Ever wanted to be someone else?
Thought I would share another excerpt from the devotional called Daily Gifts of Grace:
“I’m not defined by my family of origin, my background, my strengths, my weaknesses, my friendships, my work, my gifts, or my skills. I am a child of God. He loves me just as I am. God’s love is perfect.”
– Mary Graham
Trying to be someone else just doesn’t work. Be happy with who you are. Love yourself unconditionally and let God continue to mold you into His finished product.
I bought a daily devotional for myself this year called Daily Gifts of Grace. The goal was to read one devotion each day (duh). That hasn’t quite worked out as planned. I fall behind and then end up reading a weeks worth of devotions in one sitting.
I thought I would share an excerpt from one I read today, that hit home with me. Maybe it will touch you too:
“Working so hard to pretend that we have our lives totally together – and therefore should be in charge of everybody else’s – makes me want to say bad words and gobble up chocolate. But there is hope beyond cussing and carbohydrates. There is a path that veers away from the exhausting effort of self-reliance and back to the security we have in divine redemption.
And we’ll find the trailhead when we take our eyes off ourselves and instead focus on who God is.”
— Lisa Harper
A message from Ben Breedlove about life. Thanks T.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Great uplifting tune for a Sunday, don’t you agree?
I know God says Sunday’s are supposed to be for resting, but that is impossible around this place.
I will, of course, go to church. But then I have a day full of to-do’s:
Most of these items I either like doing or don’t mind doing so although it will be a crazy day, it should be an enjoyable one. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!
| This is a guest post from my friend Tracy’s Pastor at her church.
The Pastor’s Pen |
| Someone has said that there is dual quality to human existence – that life is lived out of “two pockets”. Another way to say this is that we have “good days” and we have “bad days”.
Heck, I have days when I get out of bed, feel rested, walk through a very dark house without running into the furniture, the coffee pot works without a hitch, the shower water is hot, the towels are clean, my razor is sharp and my favorite shirt is cleaned and pressed. By the time I get to the office, the employees are already there working diligently, my computer runs smoothly, I remember to call on the neediest people, and I never say anything wrong! Sundays are like that, too. The music is superb, we begin worship on time, the sermon is witty and powerful, and we get out of worship on time. Yes, days like that are very very good days. And then there are the bad days. I get up late (I forgot to set the alarm), I feel like a truck hit me, and as I stumble around in the dark, I stub my toe. By the time I finally get to the church office, I get a phone call from Wendy telling me I have incurred a late fee and a penalty from the bank (I’m overdrawn in my checking account), and the health insurance company has declined yet another bill that they should have paid immediately. Then to make matters worse, I get on the phone, and in a moment of insensitivity, say all the wrong things to a member who is already upset with me….yes, this is going to be a really bad day! As we move forward in the wake of yet another All Saints Day (the day that follows Halloween), we realize that Saints also had their ups and downs, their good days and their bad days, the time they were ”saintly”, and the times they were extremely “human”. A well-known philosopher once said “our life is lived out of two pockets.” He went on to suggest that whatever comes out of the “pockets” of live generally reflects either our greatness or our smallness. Yes, we all have our good days and our bad days – and God loves us every day, fortunately! |
As was probably the case in many churches today, our sermon focused on the events of ten years ago today, September 11, 2001. The first half of the message answered the question, “What changes have taken place in our country since that day?” Here were some of the examples listed:
That last point is what is interesting to me. Why is it that when people are afraid, they seek God the most? The real reason should be that they have come to realize that real hope is only found in the living God. Life is uncertain and very brief and there are no guarantees except through Jesus. He can’t be matched.
This song was performed today along with the video. Very moving. We are certainly blessed to live in this country.
Meant to post this earlier. We sang this at church today and I really liked it.
Enjoy.
Thought I would share a summary of today’s sermon. We are still in the book of 1 Samuel, which I have written about earlier.
The key verse today was 1 Samuel 16:7 – But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
How true are those words. When God decided to choose a new King for Israel, he wasn’t looking for a man who had a head full of thick, wavy hair, or one who was muscular and wore the best clothes, or the one who had the most Facebook friends 
Instead his focus was on finding a man who had great character, great faith and who had a heart of obedience to God. And so he chose David, the youngest of eight sons. He chose a person who came from an unknown city and an unknown family.
In today’s society, image is what gets the most attention. We judge each other on how we look, what we wear and by what we drive. We pay out billions to attract attention to ourselves, just so we feel that our life matters. Between the cosmetics, hair products, diet foods and surgeries, we have basically shown that the image we see in the mirror is our top priority.
But we are so wrong.
I constantly preach to my children that just because some one is cute or pretty, doesn’t mean they are a nice person. Never let your outward beautify define who you are or aren’t. What matters the most is inside you – what’s truly in your heart and soul.
Everything else is just temporary anyway.
A Simple, Village Undertaker posted a great letter written to a son leaving for college from his dad, who happens to be Coach Jay Mills, head football coach at Charleston Southern University.
Very inspiring. Thanks Ray.
