He grants a treasure of good sense to the godly. He is their shield, protecting those who walk with integrity. (NLT Proverbs 2:7)
With the Internet we have a wealth of the world's information at our fingertips. A Goggle search seems to always find something related to the subject matter we are searching for.
The key to a successful search is in knowing what to enter as the search words. But it does not just happen. You have to ask.
The same is true with our walk with God. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide us, but we have to ask. Until we are ready to turn things over to Him, it is like entering our search request into Google and never pressing the Enter key.
It takes more than just thinking about. God may know our thoughts, but He waits for the words to leave our lips. When we pray, He listens.
Did you talk to Him today?
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
A FULL INSTALL
This is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds so they will understand them, and I will write them on their hearts so they will obey them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (NLT Hebrews 8:10)
One of the options when installing a new application from Microsoft is to partially install or to install it all. If you do a partial install, everything works fine until you attempt to access a new feature. Then you must put the CD back in so the new feature can be added to the installation.
Although this is in Hebrews, the writer is quoting scripture, old testament prophecy. God is speaking of mankind having the mind of Christ.
As we move from our position in the world to our place in Christ our mindset is changed from carnal to spiritual. When we were saved we were given His mind, the mind of Christ.
No longer are we limited to what we know, to what we have experienced in our lifetime. We don't have to be able to figure it out by our self.
We have the mind of Christ. We have the complete database of eternity at our fingertips. He installed it all. Whatever we need, He will supply. We do not have to go to school to hear it. We don't have to pass a course or get a piece of paper to prove anything.
When we received Him into our life we received it all.
One of the options when installing a new application from Microsoft is to partially install or to install it all. If you do a partial install, everything works fine until you attempt to access a new feature. Then you must put the CD back in so the new feature can be added to the installation.
Although this is in Hebrews, the writer is quoting scripture, old testament prophecy. God is speaking of mankind having the mind of Christ.
As we move from our position in the world to our place in Christ our mindset is changed from carnal to spiritual. When we were saved we were given His mind, the mind of Christ.
No longer are we limited to what we know, to what we have experienced in our lifetime. We don't have to be able to figure it out by our self.
We have the mind of Christ. We have the complete database of eternity at our fingertips. He installed it all. Whatever we need, He will supply. We do not have to go to school to hear it. We don't have to pass a course or get a piece of paper to prove anything.
When we received Him into our life we received it all.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Thoughts on the Vine
John 15:1-8 (NLT)
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.
THE BRANCHES
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. (NASB John 15:1-2)
Fruit is the result of growth, which is the result of nurturing. Fruit does not just happen, He wants us to bear the fruit of the seed He has placed in us.
He does not make us to have but one crop. Each season has new growth and fresh fruit, To mature and grow, pruning is a must. Old branches must be torn away-pinched back. Then all the nourishment can feed the new fruit allowing it to grow to abundance.
How often do we refuse to let the old branches go? When we hold on to stuff we enjoyed in the past, we prevent new fruit from developing. We hang onto the old while screaming out to God to change us and give us abundance. It is our unwillingness that holds us back.
It is not our lack of faith or sin that keeps us where we are at; No, it is our unwillingness to be pruned. When we let the stuff in our lives go, the new fruit can be birthed and grow abundantly.
It should go without saying that none of this can occur without our pursuit of a close personal relationship with Him. We must trust Him completely, be in His word daily, and allow Him to change us.
YOU ARE CLEAN
You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (NASB John 15:3)
There is no qualification necessary. As you stepped forth in faith and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, because He died for all your sin, you were washed clean. There is no work to be done before you can be what He made you to be.
When you purchase a used car, the dealership has gone through it completely. They replace any worn parts, put on new tires, touch up any rough spots, any give it a fresh coat of wax. Not only does it look almost new, it has that new car smell--the result o a new car spray they use on the inside.
We are born again, not refurbished like that used car. We are brand new and without blemish in His eyes. He sees us sparkling clean just like a new car driven out of the dealership on the first day.
There is no testing period before we are allowed to step out doing whatever He has for us. We are ready day one. Sure, we have a lot to learn. We are inexperienced. He knows that and He will never give us something to do that we cannot handle.
As we listen for His voice and obey, we gain experience and grow in Him. As we grow, He gives us more and our character becomes more Christ like.
BE FRUITFUL
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. (NLT John 15:4)
I cannot tell you how often I have lived by that old adage "If you want something done right, do it yourself". Even now, when I am looking over someone's shoulder while they work on a computer problem, I want to push them aside and take over.
When we became born again, we were grafted into the vine. The vine's nourishment comes from Christ; He is the vine. Without Him our branch cannot survive; it cannot produce fruit and therefore is useless. Sure, we still have the ticket for the bus ride to heaven, but we are not doing what he destined us to do while residing in these mortal vessels.
Only as we stay connected do we walk bearing fruit. It is easy to notice when others are hurting and run up to them and begin to pray for their healing. When directed by the Holy Spirit, when God is in control of who we lay hands on, the fruit is plentiful.
We must be in God's word daily and we must let Him lead the way in all we do. As we do, He directs our path putting others needy of Him in places for us to minister. As we listen and obey, He moves in mighty ways.
STAY CONNECTED
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. (NLT John 15:5-6)
A situation occurred a couple of days ago. I ran a long network wire, installed the cable ends and plugged both in. The computer I was networking to was an older Windows 98SE machine. I have not setup networking on one that old in a long time and was not sure of how to go about it. I googled to find a solution and came up with all kinds of possibilities. Nothing seemed to work, and then I thought of the connection. I cut the ends off the wires and installed new ones. With a good connection, the network worked and the Internet was accessible.
To produce fruit we need to be connected. If we are born again, He is in us. Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit and He did. He is only one-half of the connection. Without our consciously being in Him, the network will not work.
Remaining in Him requires we communicate with Him. We must be in God's Word so He can show us what we need to move forward--to stay connected. We must praise God in all we do and be continuously in prayer.
If we choose to disconnect, to part from Him, we will be thrown aside like a useless branch. Our destiny will change from one of life to one of death as we are placed in the pile to be burned in the eternal fires.
BE ELIGIBLE
But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! (NLT John 15:7)
When you are good friends with someone and they are in need, you do not think twice about helping them. On the other hand, if someone you have not had a very good relationship with called asking for help, you might hesitate or even come up with numerous reasons why you cannot be available for them.
We read this verse in John and assume "any request" means anything at all. Others modify it and say any request that falls in line with God's will. All we have to do is look at the first half of this sentence to know what it means. If we are joined to Christ and His words remain in us, then our request will never fall outside of God's will. If it did, we would no longer be in Him and no longer be eligible for having our request granted.
God supplies all our needs as we walk with Him, as we grow in our personal relationship with Christ.
HAVE FRUIT
My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father. (NLT John 15:8)
When you walk into a model home and see the tasty looking bowl of fruit on the dining room table, you want to reach out and grab an apple. You can taste the sweetness of that first juicy bite. As you get closer and pick up the apple, you discover it is not what it seems; the fruit is actually made of plastic. It looks good but is not useful for anything but display.
Many are not who they say they are. In our culture, people spend a good deal of money on how they appear to others. They have their hair done to accentuate their good features. Hours are spent under tanning lamps for that golden brown, I just came back from the islands look. Health clubs abound with those looking to shed inches and keep their teenage bodies.
In addition to these external methods, hours are spent learning how to speak to get what you want from others. Techniques in manipulation are passed on from generation to generation. We learn how to say what others want to hear so we can sell them on the latest thing we have to sell. The who they know is the who we want them to see. The real me is hidden behind the clothes, the hairstyle, the tan, and the years of training to project the person I want them to perceive me as.
Then we get saved and a new person is birthed. To the world around us, we are still hidden behind the façade we created. That new person has to come out. As we allow God to change us and take on more of the character of Christ, cracks appear in that façade and we are revealed as His disciples.
We cannot hide who we are in Christ without staying behind those walls from before. We must come out into the open. This is the only way our fruit can be real and useful. Without the fruit there is no discipleship. Without fruit there is no evidence of a personal relationship with Christ.
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.
THE BRANCHES
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. (NASB John 15:1-2)
Fruit is the result of growth, which is the result of nurturing. Fruit does not just happen, He wants us to bear the fruit of the seed He has placed in us.
He does not make us to have but one crop. Each season has new growth and fresh fruit, To mature and grow, pruning is a must. Old branches must be torn away-pinched back. Then all the nourishment can feed the new fruit allowing it to grow to abundance.
How often do we refuse to let the old branches go? When we hold on to stuff we enjoyed in the past, we prevent new fruit from developing. We hang onto the old while screaming out to God to change us and give us abundance. It is our unwillingness that holds us back.
It is not our lack of faith or sin that keeps us where we are at; No, it is our unwillingness to be pruned. When we let the stuff in our lives go, the new fruit can be birthed and grow abundantly.
It should go without saying that none of this can occur without our pursuit of a close personal relationship with Him. We must trust Him completely, be in His word daily, and allow Him to change us.
YOU ARE CLEAN
You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (NASB John 15:3)
There is no qualification necessary. As you stepped forth in faith and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, because He died for all your sin, you were washed clean. There is no work to be done before you can be what He made you to be.
When you purchase a used car, the dealership has gone through it completely. They replace any worn parts, put on new tires, touch up any rough spots, any give it a fresh coat of wax. Not only does it look almost new, it has that new car smell--the result o a new car spray they use on the inside.
We are born again, not refurbished like that used car. We are brand new and without blemish in His eyes. He sees us sparkling clean just like a new car driven out of the dealership on the first day.
There is no testing period before we are allowed to step out doing whatever He has for us. We are ready day one. Sure, we have a lot to learn. We are inexperienced. He knows that and He will never give us something to do that we cannot handle.
As we listen for His voice and obey, we gain experience and grow in Him. As we grow, He gives us more and our character becomes more Christ like.
BE FRUITFUL
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. (NLT John 15:4)
I cannot tell you how often I have lived by that old adage "If you want something done right, do it yourself". Even now, when I am looking over someone's shoulder while they work on a computer problem, I want to push them aside and take over.
When we became born again, we were grafted into the vine. The vine's nourishment comes from Christ; He is the vine. Without Him our branch cannot survive; it cannot produce fruit and therefore is useless. Sure, we still have the ticket for the bus ride to heaven, but we are not doing what he destined us to do while residing in these mortal vessels.
Only as we stay connected do we walk bearing fruit. It is easy to notice when others are hurting and run up to them and begin to pray for their healing. When directed by the Holy Spirit, when God is in control of who we lay hands on, the fruit is plentiful.
We must be in God's word daily and we must let Him lead the way in all we do. As we do, He directs our path putting others needy of Him in places for us to minister. As we listen and obey, He moves in mighty ways.
STAY CONNECTED
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. (NLT John 15:5-6)
A situation occurred a couple of days ago. I ran a long network wire, installed the cable ends and plugged both in. The computer I was networking to was an older Windows 98SE machine. I have not setup networking on one that old in a long time and was not sure of how to go about it. I googled to find a solution and came up with all kinds of possibilities. Nothing seemed to work, and then I thought of the connection. I cut the ends off the wires and installed new ones. With a good connection, the network worked and the Internet was accessible.
To produce fruit we need to be connected. If we are born again, He is in us. Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit and He did. He is only one-half of the connection. Without our consciously being in Him, the network will not work.
Remaining in Him requires we communicate with Him. We must be in God's Word so He can show us what we need to move forward--to stay connected. We must praise God in all we do and be continuously in prayer.
If we choose to disconnect, to part from Him, we will be thrown aside like a useless branch. Our destiny will change from one of life to one of death as we are placed in the pile to be burned in the eternal fires.
BE ELIGIBLE
But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! (NLT John 15:7)
When you are good friends with someone and they are in need, you do not think twice about helping them. On the other hand, if someone you have not had a very good relationship with called asking for help, you might hesitate or even come up with numerous reasons why you cannot be available for them.
We read this verse in John and assume "any request" means anything at all. Others modify it and say any request that falls in line with God's will. All we have to do is look at the first half of this sentence to know what it means. If we are joined to Christ and His words remain in us, then our request will never fall outside of God's will. If it did, we would no longer be in Him and no longer be eligible for having our request granted.
God supplies all our needs as we walk with Him, as we grow in our personal relationship with Christ.
HAVE FRUIT
My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father. (NLT John 15:8)
When you walk into a model home and see the tasty looking bowl of fruit on the dining room table, you want to reach out and grab an apple. You can taste the sweetness of that first juicy bite. As you get closer and pick up the apple, you discover it is not what it seems; the fruit is actually made of plastic. It looks good but is not useful for anything but display.
Many are not who they say they are. In our culture, people spend a good deal of money on how they appear to others. They have their hair done to accentuate their good features. Hours are spent under tanning lamps for that golden brown, I just came back from the islands look. Health clubs abound with those looking to shed inches and keep their teenage bodies.
In addition to these external methods, hours are spent learning how to speak to get what you want from others. Techniques in manipulation are passed on from generation to generation. We learn how to say what others want to hear so we can sell them on the latest thing we have to sell. The who they know is the who we want them to see. The real me is hidden behind the clothes, the hairstyle, the tan, and the years of training to project the person I want them to perceive me as.
Then we get saved and a new person is birthed. To the world around us, we are still hidden behind the façade we created. That new person has to come out. As we allow God to change us and take on more of the character of Christ, cracks appear in that façade and we are revealed as His disciples.
We cannot hide who we are in Christ without staying behind those walls from before. We must come out into the open. This is the only way our fruit can be real and useful. Without the fruit there is no discipleship. Without fruit there is no evidence of a personal relationship with Christ.
Monday, June 04, 2007
STAY CONNECTED
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. (NLT John 15:5-6)
A situation occurred a couple of days ago. I ran a long network wire, installed the cable ends and plugged both in. The computer I was networking to was an older Windows 98SE machine. I have not setup networking on one that old in a long time and was not sure of how to go about it. I googled to find a solution and came up with all kinds of possibilities. Nothing seemed to work, and then I thought of the connection. I cut the ends off the wires and installed new ones. With a good connection, the network worked and the Internet was accessible.
To produce fruit we need to be connected. If we are born again, He is in us. Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit and He did. He is only one-half of the connection. Without our consciously being in Him, the network will not work.
Remaining in Him requires we communicate with Him. We must be in God's Word so He can show us what we need to move forward--to stay connected. We must praise God in all we do and be continuously in prayer.
If we choose to disconnect, to part from Him, we will be thrown aside like a useless branch. Our destiny will change from one of life to one of death as we are placed in the pile to be burned in the eternal fires.
A situation occurred a couple of days ago. I ran a long network wire, installed the cable ends and plugged both in. The computer I was networking to was an older Windows 98SE machine. I have not setup networking on one that old in a long time and was not sure of how to go about it. I googled to find a solution and came up with all kinds of possibilities. Nothing seemed to work, and then I thought of the connection. I cut the ends off the wires and installed new ones. With a good connection, the network worked and the Internet was accessible.
To produce fruit we need to be connected. If we are born again, He is in us. Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit and He did. He is only one-half of the connection. Without our consciously being in Him, the network will not work.
Remaining in Him requires we communicate with Him. We must be in God's Word so He can show us what we need to move forward--to stay connected. We must praise God in all we do and be continuously in prayer.
If we choose to disconnect, to part from Him, we will be thrown aside like a useless branch. Our destiny will change from one of life to one of death as we are placed in the pile to be burned in the eternal fires.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
CHOOSE LIFE
Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. (NLT Ephesians 2:1)
I never felt as though I were dead. I thought I had things pretty good. I had friends and family and fun times. Life was filled with work and hobbies. Every day was busy from start to end. What is this dead stuff? I believed in God and knew He was always present in my life, but as an observer. When I realized I had done something wrong or was thinking about doing it, I hoped God was looking into someone else's life instead of mine.
Like most, I thought our lives were judged on our goodness and if we passed the test we would go to heaven instead of the alternative, hell. As humans we were basing good and bad on what we as a culture had decided was good and bad. As the years went on we moved things from one category to another and assumed God was doing the same.
As the years moved on, more and more bad became good and sometimes it was a blurry line between the two sides. Sin was what was defined in some list somewhere. Everyone seemed to have different lists. Catholics had a different list than most Protestants I knew, and Jews had another. We all tried to live within our own list and envied some of the things on another list or gloated about what we could do and they could not.
I had heard about Jesus and new it was written that He was crucified for our sins. We celebrated Easter and Christmas and went to church every Sunday. What I did not know is what Jesus was to me. I did not have a relationship with Him. The emptiness in me was being filled with new things. Often having them was more important than using them. As each was obtained, it was fun for a while, then another would top the most desired list. It was like a never ending need to have. I believed the adage "He who dies with the most toys wins."
When our housekeeper invited us to attend that healing school in 1991, I knew Dianne would be healed of Crohn's Disease. What I did not know is how that day would affect the rest of our lives. Both of us accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior that day. We began a personal relationship with Jesus.
Dead was no longer just a physical state. Now that I was alive in Him, I understood what dead really was. Not having a relationship with Him was being dead; dead to Him. As our relationship with Him grows, we grow. We become more Christ like in our thoughts, actions, and deeds. This is all possible because we were given the chance to choose life over death and we took it.
I never felt as though I were dead. I thought I had things pretty good. I had friends and family and fun times. Life was filled with work and hobbies. Every day was busy from start to end. What is this dead stuff? I believed in God and knew He was always present in my life, but as an observer. When I realized I had done something wrong or was thinking about doing it, I hoped God was looking into someone else's life instead of mine.
Like most, I thought our lives were judged on our goodness and if we passed the test we would go to heaven instead of the alternative, hell. As humans we were basing good and bad on what we as a culture had decided was good and bad. As the years went on we moved things from one category to another and assumed God was doing the same.
As the years moved on, more and more bad became good and sometimes it was a blurry line between the two sides. Sin was what was defined in some list somewhere. Everyone seemed to have different lists. Catholics had a different list than most Protestants I knew, and Jews had another. We all tried to live within our own list and envied some of the things on another list or gloated about what we could do and they could not.
I had heard about Jesus and new it was written that He was crucified for our sins. We celebrated Easter and Christmas and went to church every Sunday. What I did not know is what Jesus was to me. I did not have a relationship with Him. The emptiness in me was being filled with new things. Often having them was more important than using them. As each was obtained, it was fun for a while, then another would top the most desired list. It was like a never ending need to have. I believed the adage "He who dies with the most toys wins."
When our housekeeper invited us to attend that healing school in 1991, I knew Dianne would be healed of Crohn's Disease. What I did not know is how that day would affect the rest of our lives. Both of us accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior that day. We began a personal relationship with Jesus.
Dead was no longer just a physical state. Now that I was alive in Him, I understood what dead really was. Not having a relationship with Him was being dead; dead to Him. As our relationship with Him grows, we grow. We become more Christ like in our thoughts, actions, and deeds. This is all possible because we were given the chance to choose life over death and we took it.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
PURSUE RIGHT PATHS
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. (NLT 2 Timothy 2:22)
We hear others refer to "the good old days". They look back and remember good times and think all would be better if we could only go back. They forget the growth in them because they came out of those "good old days" and moved into the future.
In our youth we were driven by youthful desires. We may have been looking to please ourselves; looking for the good times. Our ambitions were driving us into schools and down career paths. Our youthful lust may have been driving us down other paths as well.
As we get older, we realize how important it is to stay away from anything sending us in a direction we know to be wrong. But the world still pulls us. It still offers opportunity every day to take the wrong path.
The emails flood my machine daily with gambling opportunities, get rich quick schemes, and invitations to peek into the private rooms of young girls with their online video cams. These are not the avenues to follow. These are not ways to pursue faith and love and peace.
We must choose our companionship carefully, always mindful of the leading of the Holy Spirit. We must work daily to keep our hearts and our bodies pure as we continue to call on the Lord.
We hear others refer to "the good old days". They look back and remember good times and think all would be better if we could only go back. They forget the growth in them because they came out of those "good old days" and moved into the future.
In our youth we were driven by youthful desires. We may have been looking to please ourselves; looking for the good times. Our ambitions were driving us into schools and down career paths. Our youthful lust may have been driving us down other paths as well.
As we get older, we realize how important it is to stay away from anything sending us in a direction we know to be wrong. But the world still pulls us. It still offers opportunity every day to take the wrong path.
The emails flood my machine daily with gambling opportunities, get rich quick schemes, and invitations to peek into the private rooms of young girls with their online video cams. These are not the avenues to follow. These are not ways to pursue faith and love and peace.
We must choose our companionship carefully, always mindful of the leading of the Holy Spirit. We must work daily to keep our hearts and our bodies pure as we continue to call on the Lord.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
BOOMERANGS
For the Scriptures say, "If you want a happy life and good days, keep your tongue from speaking evil, and keep your lips from telling lies. (NLT 1 Peter 3:10)
Being happy is feeling or showing pleasure, contentment, or joy. Feeling it is the result of something, which has happened. This occurs when we are involved with something pleasing. Perhaps it is when we see our children succeeding, or our grandchildren enjoying a new toy, or when our parents are pleased with something, we did.
Showing pleasure however is a decision. We must choose to show happiness. When we do, it is contagious. Just try to be with a number of others laughing at something funny and not laugh. It is like someone yawning; it is catchy.
There is something real about the old adage laughter is the best medicine. I Googled the phrase and discovered a study done by the University of Maryland that found that people with heart disease were 40% less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
What we decide to say and how we decide to react to day-to-day circumstances affects who we are and how we feel. Think before you delete that joke in your email. Laughing at it may change your day.
As far as speaking evil and telling lies, I like another old adage—what comes around goes around. Our words are like boomerangs, they come back at the most inopportune times.
Smile, God sees it all.
Being happy is feeling or showing pleasure, contentment, or joy. Feeling it is the result of something, which has happened. This occurs when we are involved with something pleasing. Perhaps it is when we see our children succeeding, or our grandchildren enjoying a new toy, or when our parents are pleased with something, we did.
Showing pleasure however is a decision. We must choose to show happiness. When we do, it is contagious. Just try to be with a number of others laughing at something funny and not laugh. It is like someone yawning; it is catchy.
There is something real about the old adage laughter is the best medicine. I Googled the phrase and discovered a study done by the University of Maryland that found that people with heart disease were 40% less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
What we decide to say and how we decide to react to day-to-day circumstances affects who we are and how we feel. Think before you delete that joke in your email. Laughing at it may change your day.
As far as speaking evil and telling lies, I like another old adage—what comes around goes around. Our words are like boomerangs, they come back at the most inopportune times.
Smile, God sees it all.
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