Spiritual Thoughts

  I t is not the weight of things that matters. It is all about our balance within. ~ Unknown   D o your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others and love. ~ 2 Peter1:5-7

T he foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty. ~ Zig Zaglar   A s for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. ~ 2 Timothy 4:5

C hange must always be balanced with some degree of consistency. ~ Ron D. Burton     T o everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

I t seems like everything sleeps in winter, BUT it's really a time of renewal and reflection. ~ Elizabeth Cambden   D o not be conformed to this world, BUT be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may prove what is the will of God and what is good and acceptable and perfect. ~ Romans 12:2

Friday Tale -  Thanksgiving Alphabet    A lthough things are not perfect B ecause of trial or pain, C ontinue in thanksgiving; D o not begin to blame. E ven when the times are hard, F ierce winds are bound to blow, G od is forever able H old on to what you know. I magine life without His love, J oy would cease to be. K eep thanking Him for all the things L ove imparts to thee. M ove out of "Camp Complaining". N o weapon that is known O n earth can yield the power, P raise can do alone. Q uit looking at the future: R edeem the time at hand St art every day with worship T o "thank" is a command. U ntil we see Him coming, V ictorious in the sky, W e'll run the race with gratitude X alting God most high. Y es, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but... Z ion waits in glory...where none are ever sad! ~ Author Unknown   A Psalm for Thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.  Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful si...

T hank you God, for this good life, and forgive us if we do not love it enough. ~ Garrison Keillor   P ray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

  G ratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, and stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie F or everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected it if is received with gratitude, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. ~ 1 Timothy 4:4-5

N o amount of regret changes the past.  No amount of anxiety changes the future. BUT any amount of gratitude changes the present. ~ Marc & Angel Chernoff   A lways give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Ephesians 5:20

T here is peace in a life of constant gratitude. Have gratitude for the smallest blessings, for the crust of bread and the cool drink of water. ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie   S o then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and over-flowing with thankfulness. ~ Colossians 2:6-7

  Friday Tale - Wisdom of Wolves    T he attitude of the wolf can be summed up simply: it is a constant visualization of success. The collective wisdom of wolves has been progressively programmed into their genetic makeup throughout the centuries. Wolves have mastered the technique of focusing their energies toward the activities that will lead to the accomplishment of their goals.     Wolves do not aimlessly run around their intended victims, yipping and yapping. They have a strategic plan and execute it through constant communication. When the moment of truth arrives, each understands his role and understands exactly what the pack expects of him. The wolf does not depend on luck. The cohesion, teamwork and training of the pack determines whether the pack lives or dies.        Everyone does not strive to be the leader in the wolf pack. Some are consummate hunters or caregivers or jokesters, but each seems to gravit...

G od is good on timing. When I thought He was late, it was only because I had tried to run too far ahead. ~ Unknown   F or you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. ~ Hebrews 10:36

I t is not where you come from; it is where you are going that counts. ~ Ella Fitzgerald   F or here we do not have an enduring city; BUT we are looking for the city that is to come. ~ Hebrews 13:14

I n the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. ~ Albert Camus   W hy my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. ~ Psalm 43:5

U se what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang the best. ~ Unknown   E ach of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. ~ 1 Peter 4:10

Friday Tale - Say Something Nice   One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.    Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.    It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.    That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.    On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't k...

  Y ou are picky about the car you drive. You are picky about what you wear. You are picky about what you put in your mouth. Be even pickier about what you think. ~ Abraham Hicks   T herefore rid yourselves of all malice and deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. ~ 1 Peter 2:1-2

R ight is right, even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. ~ Robert Tew BUT Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men." ~ Acts 5:29

E verything you go through  grows you. ~ Robert Tew   BUT speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even Christ. ~ Ephesians 4:15

T he difference between school and life? In school you are taught a lesson and given a test. In life, you are given a test that teaches you a lesson. ~ Tom Bodett W hen a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge. ~ Proverbs 21:11

  Friday Tale - A Peculiar Kind of Love   I t was love at first sight. I knew how the boy felt who clambered breathlessly through his front door and cried, “Dad! I’m in love!”         “How do you know it’s love?” his father asked.         “Because, when I kissed her good night, her dog bit me and I never even felt it ‘til I got home!”         I can relate, because even without the dog-bite test I knew love when it bit me. And it must have bit her, too, because a few weeks later she asked me to marry her (well, that’s how I remember it anyway). Before long, though, I began to notice something “peculiar” about her love. She sometimes said strange things like “I love you too much to hold on to you.” Or, “I want you to be happy...even if that means we won’t be together.”         I know what she meant. She meant th...

  If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. If we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. ~ Anne Bradstreet Before I was afflicted I went astray, BUT now I keep Your word. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. ~ Psalm 119:71, 75

L ove is the foundation from which your decisions about your life should be made. ~ Darren L. Johnson A nd so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in them. ~ 1 John 4:16