"Unguarded Moments"

At any given time any one of us can experience an "unguarded moment". These are the times when doubt about who we can become is overshadowed by who we are today. For some reason on those days our mistakes, mess ups, downfalls, and worries seem to be magnified. We just can not seem to get anything to go our way, am I right or has this only happened to me?

In these "unguarded moments" we tend not to stand on the promise in which God has given and planned for us (For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11). We tend to not view ourselves as the mighty warriors God has declared us to be. We MUST understand this very important fact that we as Christians are certainly not exempt from those times (unguarded moments) when life's pressure brings out our rawest form of emotion but in saying that we must not use that as an excuse to throw our destiny away and certainly not let it ruin your testimony!!!

LiFE

If we could understand this simple fact that our lives will not be memorable for the things we couldn't do but simply for the things we DID do. We put so much focus on the,"eye catching" acheivments and yet most of the time we come up short. When doing this we tend to see ourselves with a, "What can I do?" mentality.
Viewing yourself in that way will not only keep you from acheiving the simple things that you are more than able to accomplish but it will also rob a person of a possible life changing experience. Your actions, which may seem so small and insignificant to you, could be the spark that will launch someone into complete and total greatness.
The simplest of things like speaking words of life, encouraging a person's dreams, telling someone that they can be great can mean so much to an individual.

FLEAS

There was an interesting study done at a college where students put some fleas into a jar and sealed it with a lid. After several days of the fleas hitting themselves on the lid from trying to jump out of the jar the students notice something. The fleas began to jump only to a certain height, right under the lid. The students then removed the lid but here is the crazy part, the fleas would not jump past the point right underneath the where the lid use to be.

Wheather it was due to fear or the fact that the fleas had conformed to their surrondings, they lost their desire to escape from the jar. They got their eyes of the prize.

Now here's where we come into the picture. We can't allow the surroundings of this world to affect or distract or even discourage us from reaching our inmost desires. Our surrondings can include the high rising gas and food prices which i'm sure you all are aware of the amount of stress those two things can easily bring. We may not reach our dreams on the first couple of tries just as the fleas didn't escape the jar immediately but if you (we) can persevere past the lids that hold us back and not conform to what this world has to offer, there is no telling how far we can go!

See Greatness!

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you may help them to become what they are capable of being. If you can add a cup of encouragment daily, you could reap gallons of achievements for a life time. The best thing is to see potential rather then present. Help polish those rough diamonds!

Success By Associaton

I call it "Success By Associaton" and it has to do with the company you surround yourself with. If we are known by the company we keep then the company we keep ought to encourage, inspire and invigorate us to greatness, always pushing us to be at our best. So now that you have read this, here is the question: Are you being strengthened by your company?

Try to really take an inventory of your close friends (a person you know well and regard with affection and trust) and then those who you would just call acquaintances (a person acquired by a relationship less intimate than friendship). And now ask yourself if those who you hold close are fulfilling their role in your life. They have, what you could almost call a job or requirement to help build you in the process of becoming who you need to be. Close friends have a higher level of standards they should live up to compared to someone who is just an acquaintance yet they both have major significance in the role they play in your life.

I've stressed many times the importances of pouring into lives but in the very same way, others should be pouring into you, especially if you consider them to be a close friend. In a small way I hope that I've been able to pour into your life, even challenge you to be better, wheather you consider me to be a close friend or just an acquaintance.

Rainy Days

...ever had one of those days,"when it rains it pours" and each drop felt like a waterfall and u just wished someone would lend u an umbrella but it never comes. the only thing i can tell u when one of those days comes around is pray for the SON to come and dry u up!

SENSES

I think we tend to take for granted our senses at times. Such as touch, taste, smell, and hearing but the one sense we over look the most as got to be our COMMON sense!

Go Deeper!

We appreciate someone for what they do but we affirm who they are. When someone does something great for you, you tend to appreciate the act, not so much the person but affirmation goes much deeper cause when you affirm them, there is no need for them to do anything but be themselves.
Therefore, I believe that when you encourage (AFFIRM) someone on a regular basis, you not only strengthen thier state of mind but also their soul. Because when someone is affirmed for who they are rather then anything they could possibly do, that speaks volumes to the soul.
Lets dig just a little deeper, Jesus Christ died for us with the full knowledge that we could never repay Him, but just love Him in return. So when Christ affirms us each day with love and the promise of hope, He does it just because you are YOU!!!

--PREVIEWS--

Have you ever seen great previews to a movie, then when the movie
came out, it turned out it was really lame?

Lets use that as an example in life, check this out. Those great
previews are much like the temptation this world offers us. The
world only wants you to see the glamorous part, the fun part. But
just like the lame movie that follows, you won't see the real stuff until you've had to pay for it. By then it's too late.

At least the movie will finish in an hour or two, but the pain and
heartache after paying for the temptation from this world could
easily end up in years of bondage.

--MATURITY--

A true sign of maturity is being others-centered rather then just being self-centered. Here is a good example; you begin to see growth when your prayer time becomes more about others instead of always about me,me,me.

We make a living by what we get but we make lives by what we give!!! It might be more important to enrich others rather then to just be rich.