Proverbs 21:1-2
1The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD;
            He turns it wherever He wishes.

      2Every man’s way is right in his own eyes,

            But the LORD weighs the hearts.

And they all forsook him and fled.  - Mark 14:50

It happened to Him too.

Ever hear of something bad happening to a friend of yours,
and wondering, 'could that happen to me, too'?

It makes the frailness our own reality that much more clear to us.

But don't be afraid.
Focus your heart.
Lean in closer to Him.
Sit with Him.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.   Romans 8:28

There are many examples in the Bible.
Consider Daniel in the Lions Den.   He was thrown there because of other people's jealousy and his integrity. But God stood with him.  

And again, Joseph was thrown in jail, because of another person's malice towards him and his integrity.

And when Elisha was being hunted down by a king, he did not have fear.
God allowed this blind man of integrity to see just how much protection he had.
He was surrounded by horses and chariots of fire.

Just because you maintain your integrity and obey God, does not mean that things won't happen.
Actually, often times you will know hard times BECAUSE you maintain integrity.

But sit with Him.
You sit with Him!!
He will maintain you.

And if what ever happened to you was partially your fault...
Maybe you DID make a mistake!
Learn from it!

When things around you tumble,
your true life is not jeopardized, 
your peace and joy do not have to be destroyed.
Aim at knowing Him.
He will keep you.

Rest in the power of God.

COME SIT WITH ME.

"It's all about attitude.
Be joyful, patient, faithful.
Do not conform to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."   -Romans 12:12
Do not think of yourself more highly than you should.  - Romans 12:4-8
Focus less on 'what you are doing' and more on 'who you are being'.
Think before you speak, take your thoughts captive, share them with God, replace them with His truth.
Speak edifying words.

""We honor God by earning our living.  Aimless, unproductive Christians contradict the creative, purposeful, powerful, merciful God we love!   They waste their lives.   'Do not labor for food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life.'  -John 6    There should be a significant sense in which we are not working for that food but for more.   In other words, don't FOCUS on the mere material things in your work.   Don't labor with a view to the perishable things you can buy with your earnings.   Work with an eye not mainly to your money." -Don't Waste Your Life  

Work with a view to bringing honor to God. 

Ever have someone in power and authority say to you,
Come, sit with me?     
And what follows is the feeling of peace, safety, and protection and excitement?
Well, there is Some One in power and authority who says to you:

COME SIT WITH ME.

"Keep close to My will and way in everything.   Keep close to Me, very close.  Think, act, and live in My presence.   How dare any enemy touch you.   That is the secret of all Power, all Peace, all Purity, all influence, the keeping close to Me. Abide in Me.  Live in My presence.   Rejoice in My love.   Thank and Praise all the time.   Wonders are unfolding.   

NO GOD, NO PEACE. KNOW GOD. KNOW PEACE.

Love and Laugh.
No matter what.
Your joy is in Me.
Peace, be at peace.
Stop all work and action with others until you can
get back with Me and have your peace restored.

Do not let those around you spoil your peace of heart and mind.
Do not let anyone,
any trouble,

any irritation,
any adversity,
disturb it for one moment.
Look on each difficulty as training to enable you to acquire this peace.
Every work, every interruption,
let none of it touch the harmony of the real you,
that is hidden in Me.

Significance. Insecurities in women.

What is that sense inside us,
the wanting to be great,
the search for meaning and significance.
Lord, Don't let my prayer time disintegrate into meaningless ruminations.

"Men are not one blink healthier then women are emotionally.
A person can be on target about something,
however without necessarily being healthy.
We have the same tendencies when we strive to control our guys,
and then when we finally get them to submit to us like whipped dogs,
we think THEY are pathetic!

Guys in a survey listed a number of top ranking insecurities in women (besides appearance).
Irrational jealousy,
full blown emotional episodes (whatever do you mean?!!)
obsession with what people think,
insatiable need for affirmation.

The men who responded DID NOT want women to feel insecure.

At the end of the day, both men and women want to be with someone they can respect."
-Beth Moore

Depressed? Need Significance and a Purpose? Know God, Get Joy.

Be the one that...
Doesn't notice the dirt on the floor, but the rose on the table.

"Follow My rules faithfully.  
Honor.  Esteem.  Value your spouse.
Love simplicity.
In honor, give preference to one another.
It is a daily call of surrender and obedience."

Some people are willing to do things for others in church and see it as part of their ministry and yet are unwilling to do the same things at home for their own family members.   Let the people in your sphere of influence see the changes in you! -Joyce Meyers

Do things as if you were doing them for God, not for men.
Serving God is serving the other person.
Not for what you can get back.
It goes back to:

DONT WASTE YOUR LIFE
"We waste our lives when we do not pray and think and dream and plan and work toward magnifying God in all spheres of life.  God created us for this, to live our lives in a way that shows Him more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that He really is.   Every good work should be a revelation of the glory of God.   What makes a good deed good, an act of love is the passion and the sacrifice to make God Himself known.   Not to aim to show God is not to love because God is what we need most deeply".

Passion for God and the desire to know joy, are one and the same.
God's purpose for my life is that I grow to know and love Him
- and a result is I will have joy.
It is direction.
It is purpose.

I have a story to tell you.
This seems small I know.
But I am realizing that God is in the small, the mundane as well as in the great-

My husband called.
Wanted to know if he could order pizza for his co-workers.
I was alittle stressed, still hadn't been able to pay the mortgage yet.
He said that's fine. Nevermind.
I hung up.
He rarely asks to do that.

Honor your husband, value and esteem him.
This will glorify God, and will bring you joy!
Lay my life down willingly, 
not out of compulsion.


I thought, well, I have a few dollars in cash.  I checked Dominos.  My husband only needed to feed a total of four people.  To do it cheaply, I would have to get off my butt and actually go pick up the pizza (to save on delivery fees), and perhaps get a cheap dessert.   I know what it is like to be at work.   Any food is always appreciated.   I realized if i made a small effort I could:

1. Honor my husband
2. Do it without hurting us financially
3. Be listening to and reflecting God.
4. And guess what?   A nice side result of that is joy for me!!!

I ordered the pizza, wrapped up some cake I had made the night before, picked up the pizza, stopped and picked up some $2 cookies.

Wow, you would have thought I had brought them gold!
My husband thanked me at least four times. I am not going to lie, that is unusual!
His co-workers shook my hand and thanked me as well!

Glorifying God, getting joy, blessing others.

Are you trying to help, or are you trying to control?

"Follow My rules faithfully,
Honor and esteem, value your spouse.
Love simplicity.
Yours is a daily call of surrender and obedience."
-God Calling

Are you trying to help someone,
or are you trying to control them?

I am determined to swim upstream against the pull of my selfishness
and to be a servant and a blessing every where I go."   -Joyce Meyer

Serve your marriage partner and see it as serving God.

I am your guide and your friend.
You have different hopes and aspirations and motives and sense of reward.
Hours, days, months of weariness and heartache you have battled and overcome.
By a steadfast unflinching desire to conquer self and to do My will and live my teachings.
-God Calling

I want to bring glory to God by being kind, loving, hardworking, a person with integrity.

Thought for the day:
Children are not an asset, in the sense of property gained, children are one of the greatest and most
valuable blessings in a person's life.  Thank you Lord for our beautiful blessings.

Can you wrap your head around this?

"We waste our lives when we do not pray and think and dream and plan and work toward magnifying God in all spheres of life.   God created us for this, to live our lives in a way that makes Him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that He really is.   Every good work should be a revelation of the glory of God.   What makes a good deed good, and an act of love, is the passion and the sacrifice to make God Himself known as glorious.   Not to aim to show God is not to love, because God is what we need most deeply.   If you don't point people to God for everlasting joy, then you don't love."
-Don't waste your life.