Monday's Blessing
John 13:35 

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one 
another."

Where are we in life without those we love? Not very far up the ladder of life, unfortunately, if we choose to be alone. There is something about that feeling of isolation that can wreck havoc on a man's soul. It can make the days seem longer, almost unattainable, with no one to share your hopes and dreams.  We all need people around us to share life's adventures.  God intended it this way.

Family can be immediate or special friendships that evolved and rank on the same level 
as the closeness felt by family members. Family is our support system, they remind us of who we are and ground us when the time is needed. What is the first thing that comes to mind when tragedy or joy strikes? Who can I share this with, of course! The nuances of life are funny as this question taps lightly. After all, God did have a sense of humor when he made each of us with our various personalities. 

Even those we love can frustrate us some days, but they can also be a God sent when we want to share information that friends may not understand. Life's joys and turbulence would not have such an impact if we had no one to share in these moments. These individuals are always there, when we need them most, offering a hand should we stumble and fall. No questions asked, no need for retribution, working on the divine principle of love. They are loyal and stoic giving us the needed support all the days of our lives.

God clearly states the importance of loving one another. "By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." I believe there are many hidden messages here to mentor our life. One, the message speaks of the importance of filling our hearts with love. After all there is a fine line between love and hate.

How can hate grow where there is love? Love builds tolerance for one another. It actually makes the days pass by easier with those little quirks that get in the way when we work or live closely with those we love. As you know, as soon as frustration or animosity hits, you are well aware of how quickly intolerance builds.  Being with those we love is never an easy ride, yet, that roller coaster makes life eventful. By keeping those we love in our hearts, we make that trip less jarring and more welcomed. 

Most importantly, God doesn't want us to be alone. We are made in his likeness. God didn't want to be alone: and,therefore, created man. For those of us who have feared an issue alone, for fearing of telling anyone, you know how devastating this sense of being ostracized can be. God wanted us to have support, to have one and other to lean on. And, to be a shoulder to others if needed.   Reach out, hug, and be loved.

Daily Guidance 

1. Is there a family member you need to reconnect with? Often, these can be the most difficult of all. After all, our pride stands stoic in the way not allowing the ability to heal. There is a wonderful article How to Heal Family Wounds to get you started. Swallow that pride, and allow God to guide you. 

2. If you have a spouse or children. Do set aside one day a week to appreciate them. Make it Family Fun Day, and plan activities accordingly. Relationships need work, they don't blossom unless you water them frequently. 

3. Take time to play everyday with those you love. Playing allows us to bring out that child like ego that is often suppressed. It has such positive effects, and brings those much needed endorphins giving us a bright outlook on life.

4. Remember it is just as important to share God with those you love. Give him credit when things go well in your life. When things go astray, remind remind yourself and others that God's hand is working and we may not always be privy to its intent.

Monday's Blessing
2 Corinthians 6:14

"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness 
with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? "

There are great laws in the Bible that specifically speak of the certainty of setting boundaries.  And, yes, boundaries need to be set especially for people who "suck the life out of us".   I know this sounds unchristian at first, but I truly believe God protects us from individuals such as these by the verification of today's verse.  This is not be confused with the Biblical verse, "turn the other cheek".  Each verse is a lesson in its own respect, such as the latter, that prompts us not to become violent or used by uncaring individuals.  "Do not be unequally yoked," is a powerful verse.  God tells us not to become part of a relationship that is not our equal.  We don't see eye to eye, and God knows this. It makes perfect sense since people that are not in our own realm have alternate ideas that often drag us down, make us confused, and just shake our whole being.  Do you know of someone who always sees the cup half full?  Always desperate for attention?  Always in need?  A good partnership is two-way street.  A solid partnership has the same likes and dislikes that bonds the persons together.  Partners often enjoy the same entertainment.  They listen to each other, and offer solid advice.  There is trust and compassion evident in the relationship. Do not surround yourself with people that drag you down.  Yes, do be a Christian when someone is in need, but you don't have to inundate your time helping this individual that may never see the light.

"What partnership as righteousness without lawlessness?" Partnerships can be with your spouse, partner, children, friends, or others who are close in your life. Even though we are surrounded by those we love, it is important to set your own personal boundaries to ensure you do not smother, nor do they smother you. It is often especially hard for woman to set boundaries as we are generally nurturing in spirit. But, nonetheless, it is important to set boundaries to keep your relationships healthy. Actually, there are several points that are important to keep your own sanity.  

What setting boundaries means: 

Setting boundaries means you are taking responsibility and 
standing by your personal code of ethics and values.

Setting boundaries reflect your right to say NO to things that 
are not right for you.

Setting boundaries means you are learning the importance of 
self-care, self respect, and self love.

Setting boundaries emerge when we learn to go within, listen to 
our authentic selves, value our own decisions and trust 
ourselves.

Setting boundaries emerge from knowing what you believe, 
dislike, or like is important and relevant.

Setting boundaries emerge from deep introspection and the realization of what you
deserve and do not deserve.


Daily Guidance

1. How do you create a boundary? 

1. Decide what you will accept and what you will not. If you find someone is 
crossing your boundaries, describe the behavior you find unacceptable.

2. Describe what action steps you will take if your boundary is violated.

3. Enforce your boundaries if necessary.

2. Be sure to plan your consequence BEFORE addressing that individual who has over stepped your boundary.  Be direct and concise of what you will tolerate.  Don't waver should the boundary be crossed again.  There is no sense in setting up boundaries if you can't follow through with a consequence.  

3. Never apologize to an individual for setting a boundary. Why should you?  After all most boundaries are simply common sense.  You will send mixed signals.  you must be firm and direct.  Otherwise, that person will find an alternate avenue that will not conform to your expectations.

4. Above all, pray.  Pray, pray, pray.  God will direct you on how to handle this.  You are a child of God, and deserve to be loved and respected!
 

Monday's Blessing
Colossians 3:17 
 
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him"

Gratitude lists are a great way to lend insight to our many blessing especially when life's tolls have blinded us.  When days transpire that dump buckets of grunge on us and drive us haywire, we can often lose sight of everything that cements our love and trust of life and others.  How quickly we forget there are still things we value highly, and instead, focus on all the things turning under.  This in turn, plummets us into the sea of grief and disrupts the very foundation of hope in which we stand fast.  Days like these, evoke needed gratitude lists.  By ensuring we mentally complete a gratitude list each day in prayerful meditation, we can ensure a happy, healthy state of mind despite the trauma life throws at us.

Gratitude quotes and prayers are easy once you get the hang of it.  It is just gathering a mental file of everything in your life that makes you smile.  At first this may be difficult as we are usually unaware (especially in a high stress state) of all of our many blessings.  Let me share the simplistic "Gratitude Prayer" by E. E. Cummings: 

I thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of 
treesand a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(I who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; 
this is the birthday of life and love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the 
no of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginably You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are 
opened)
- E. E. Cummings

Being grateful requires less energy and promotes positive well-being.  Just the act of being grateful sends endorphins to our brains releasing a wave positive energy that will spark a rolling fire of delight throughout the day.  By staying in this positive state, we create positive situations instead of drawing negative circumstances.  Here are some great ideas to add to your grateful list daily:

* Thank you, God, for the sunshine
* Thank you, God, for life
* Thank you, because my car started on the first try
* Thank you, for this great lunch
* Thank you, God, for getting me to work on time.
* Thank you for my health
* Thank you for that person who just helped me
* Thank you for great friends in my life
* Thank you for a roof over my head
* Thank you for my kids
 
This Week's Meditations:

1. If you are having a hard time getting started, take a look at the Ultimate Gratitude List. This will get the ball rolling and give you great insight to ALL the many blessings God bestows on us.

2.  It is important that you do your grateful meditational prayers for 10 - 20 minutes a day.  Doing this daily will inspire good things to happen in your life.
 
3. Look for Biblical quotes in your Bible this week that relate to thankfulness. You may want to try Bible in Song's long listing of Biblical quotes.

Monday's Blessing

Job 3:25

"What I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me."

​The story of Job has many lessons.  One powerful principal is revealed early in the calamities that came upon him.  He lamented one day, "The things I greatly feared came upon me.  And that which I dreaded has happened" These types of thoughts and comments are giving a foothold to our greatest enemy - fear and anxiety in disproportionate amounts. Having these thoughts gives negativity a foothold, an open door, free shot at you. 

​If there is one thing that holds millions of people back each day from growing as an individual, achieving high levels of success, and becoming the best version of themselves, fear and anxiety are definitely at the top of the list. High achievers, regardless of occupation, understand that taking risks and massive action is a vital part in getting from where you are to where you want to go. And that goes for in life -- and in business. But often these risks are met with fear and anxiety, which can cause people to question their ambitions and prevent them from taking action.

It is important to understand a bit of fear and anxiety are absolutely normal. Even the calmest people experience fear from time to time. The key is to not let fear and anxiety hold you back and prevent you from taking action and going after what you want in life.

Try these three things to banish fear and anxiety:

1. Rewire your brain. Rewiring your brain is one of the surest ways to overcome your fears and develop the courage that is needed to get to where you want to go. Develop mantras and affirmations that build you up and increase your self-confidence. Read uplifting books to help interrupt the negative inner dialogue that goes on in your mind. Beginning as a child, we are told negative things that we can’t do, be or have. If you don’t take the initiative to rewire your brain, life will do it for you.

2. Have a well thought out plan. We begin to worry and over analyze situations when we don’t have detailed and well thought out plans for our life. Set extremely clear goals with a detailed plan on how to achieve those goals. After you have a well detailed plan, take action.Taking action towards meaningful goals helps to relieve stress and gives you a huge sense of enjoyment. Fear creeps in and paralyzes us when we don’t take the time to plan our lives.

3. Do one thing every day that causes you discomfort. Living in our comfort zone is not the best way to live. Not doing the things that frighten you will increase the likelihood that your fears will become bigger – and taking over your life. It can even be something small that you choose to do, but do something daily that is uncomfortable. Step out of your comfort zone and work on becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. When you form the habit of doing something daily that scares you, your courage grows little by little. Soon enough, the barriers that once were holding you back vanish and your potential maximizes tremendous!

Making the bold decision to not let fear hold you back anymore is one of the best decisions you can make to ensure future success. It’s not something that happens overnight, but taking intentional action and running towards your fears daily will give you a promising result in the long run.

Everything that you want in life is past your comfort zone. Don’t let fear be the reason you lived a half-lived life.
​
This Week's Meditation:

God, my attack thoughts are making me weak in _______________. Uplift me!

Say this each time this week you feel fear or anxiety taking a stronghold.  
 

Monday's Blessing
Ephesians 4:22-23

"Throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.  Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes."

​Our minds are like computers.  It processes thoughts, in fact, it stores everything we see whether we want it to or not.  In that huge filing cabinet, you have access to every thought you've ever encountered.  You decide what thought you will entertain in your mind.  It comes in handy sometimes when you can't find your keys, but it's not helpful when you consider the amount of smut, foul language, ungodly concepts, and other negative input it stores every day.  Nevertheless, simply because a destructive thought is stored in your mental computer does not mean you have to pull it up and run it on the main screen of your mind.  

Every second of every day we have a choice to be mindful of what we allow to come into our lives. Part of being on a Christian path means raising your level of consciousness and awareness. Even at our most prayerful presence, we cannot control every aspect that enters our lives. If we set the intention to live our lives in the most Christ-like fashion by making the choice to gently remove those things that do not serve the greatest good, we still succumb to negative influences. We're human.

Try the following 4 ideas to remove those negative thoughts in our lives:

1. The first step in moving towards filtering out those things, places, people, habits, and foods that do not serve your Christian life, is to set an intention and be clear that this is really what you want to do. Very often, we have these ideas to make these positive changes, but in reality, we may not be ready to do them. If this is true, there is nothing wrong with you, it happens to all of us, but sit and pray about why you may or may not be ready to let some unhealthy habits go. Making the commitment to these changes and getting in that mental space is a great place to begin.

2. Next, strive to be present to every aspect of your life, go inward, and see how it feels for you. Cultivate your sense of intuition here. If some things just aren’t feeling right for you, contemplate why that might be. We live in a society that focuses on over-thinking things, and going off what our brains tell us to do. Learn to listen to your body. Get out of your head and start to feel your way through life.

3. Identify what it is in your life that can be gently let go of. Maybe it’s a violent TV show that leaves you feeling anxious after watching it. Maybe it’s a relationship that agitates you and leaves you feeling lonely. Maybe you are feeling suffocated by your living situation and need growth. There are so many avenues we can look here, and it is all unique to our lives. Identifying what you can release will open up the space to bring in more positives into your life.

4. Finally, after marking what can be released, contemplate what positives you can bring in to fill those spaces. If you’re filtering out a TV show, try replacing it with a positive book. If you’re letting go of a relationship, focus on loving and taking care of yourself. If you’re disenchanted with a living space go searching for somewhere that makes you feel happy, get out in nature, or work to change up the space you’re currently living in. Beginning to gently let go of these negatives and replacing them with purposeful positives will be beneficial to all aspects of your life.

Living positive, happy, meaningful lives is possible for each and every one of us. At every moment, we are all growing and evolving. We progress through making simple, positive changes that add up to create a beautiful, purposeful life.

This week's meditation:

God is in everything I see because God is in my mind.
​
​Practice this four times a day or more.