Deuteronomy 4:29

But if from there you seek the LORD your God,
you will find him if you look for him
with all your heart and with all your soul.

You are the single most distracting obstacle between your own failure and success. Each day you make a series of immediate decisions that ultimately shape the course of your life. Failure and success are not immediate procurements; they are slow fades evolving from the good and bad decisions you make each and every moment of your life.

Don’t ever believe that God does not have a will and purpose for your life. Even if you feel lost in the gray area between black and white – remember that your position in life today, has been your choice and yours alone.

Nothing can stand between you and God’s will, except you.

Right now, simply by reading this – you are reaching to find that will. You are seeking.

Matthew 6:31-34

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Can you discern through the gate whether the dog is a beggar or just a truly hungry animal? Hunger is a boldness that doesn’t whine. It takes what it needs in order to feed itself. Hunger is determination. Those that have true hunger don’t waste time and energy on making useless noises, they simply act.

Beggars pause. A beggar makes his presence known to all; the truly hungry stalk their prey carefully, methodically, and with an ultimate goal. It is the beggar that waits for a bone, the hungry find one and then devours it.

True hunger is honest, unabated, unswerving and yet unpredictable.

Which is more dangerous?

Secret-Angels is sponsoring a Tag Writing Contest to help raise funds for Sparrow House, a transitional group home for abused women and children. The prize is a $100 cash!

At the very end of this post you will find a list of TAGS:

“Tag” is short for metatag, which is a techie term for information about information. They’re basically labels that describe content, whether it’s words, images, files, audio, or video. You’ve no doubt seen tags at work (they’re ubiquitous in the blogosphere), but perhaps you aren’t aware of all you can do with them.

Use the list of tags at the bottom, select something you can relate to, and then write an article, essay, short story or poem. Make sure that the tag you select appears somewhere in the subject line or article at least one time! Make your donation and then email your entry to Contest@Secret-Angels.org!

To enter the contest, Secret-Angels is only asking for a $1.00 donation - but feel free to donate more if you feel called to do so! You can snail-mail the donation to:

Secret-Angels
1700 CR 468
Elgin, Texas 78621

(Just make sure to include your email address and contact information in case you win!)

You can also make the donation through the Secret-Angels PayPal Account. Please make sure you designate the purpose to Tag Writing Contest so we have a record of how many people entered! CREDIT CARDS ARE NOT ACCEPTED (Secret-Angels support responsible stewardship of your money - and who wants to pay those interest charges anyway?)

Secret-Angels is a nonprofit management company that assists emerging nonprofits with fund-raising, grant-writing and overall business development. If you would like more information about this organization or any of the other grass-roots projects that it supports, please feel free to contact the director, Tara Deck at (512) 281-0202 or by email.

LIST OF TAGS FOR TAG WRITING CONTEST:

Spiritual gifts

Faith

Things worth dying for

Mother’s intuition

Gut feeling(s)

Dream(s)

Voice(s)

Vision(s)

Defend your faith

People call you crazy

Things are not always as they appear

Who are you?

The deadline for the contest is
September 11th
and the contest winner will be notified, awarded and announced no later than
October 1st
so GET STARTED NOW!

A little secret for people that read this far……

You will retain all copyrights for your work but all articles submitted will be considered public domain and distributed freely to anyone that requests a TAG ARTICLE from Secret-Angels, feel free to include whatever signature information you wish to include with your article.

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. - James Dent

At my house, “Dust” is a noun, not a verb. - Anonymous

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. - Phyllis Diller

Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance? - Phyllis Diller

I always thought a yard was three feet, then I started mowing the lawn. - C.E. Cowman

I buried a lot of my ironing in the back yard. - Phyllis Diller

I make no secret of the fact that I would rather lie on a sofa than sweep beneath it. But you have to be efficient if you’re going to be lazy. - Shirley Conran

I will clean house when Sears comes out with a riding vacuum cleaner. - Roseanne Barr

I write down everything I want to remember. That way, instead of spending a lot of time trying to remember what it is I wrote down, I spend the time looking for the paper I wrote it down on. - Anonymous

My husband and I have figured out a really good system about the housework: neither one of us does it. - Dottie Archibald

My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance. - Anonymous

My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. - Erma Bombeck

My theory on housework is, if the item doesn’t multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares. Why should you? - Erma Bombeck

Nature abhors a vacuum. And so do I. - Anne Gibbons

One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duck tape to make them stop. - G.M. Weilacher

The obvious and fair solution to the housework problem is to let men do the housework for, say, the next six thousand years, to even things up. The trouble is that men, over the years, have developed an inflated notion of the importance of everything they do, so that before long they would turn housework into just as much of a charade as business is now. They would hire secretaries and buy computers and fly off to housework conferences in Bermuda, but they’d never clean anything. - Dave Barry

This is a honeydew day. That is when you get a day off and the wife says, “Honey, do this,” and “Honey, do that” around the house. - Jim Lemon

Three-fourths of the Earth’s surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn. - Chuck Clark

I woke up Sunday morning exhausted and mad. I found myself lying in bed arguing with my husband and he wasn’t even awake yet. We had spent all day Saturday out at the soccer fields with our 3 children . Beat by the sun I had collapsed into bed after haphazardly dumping some clothes into the washer and making a lame attempt to cook dinner. Still tired when I woke up the first thing that crossed my mind was I needed more help. I fumbled through making the coffee, glaring angrily at the dinner dishes that were still sitting in the sink and gleefully took the last clean coffee cup, thinking ’serves him right’. Walking outside I quickly sidestepped one of the kittens that had perched itself in front of the door demanding to be fed. You’re just going to have to wait, I told him, I can’t do everything. I sat there sipping my coffee watching the day dawn, getting angrier and angrier the more I thought of all the things that needed to be done. None of the kids had probably had a bath. I was sure the clothes were still sitting in the washer right where I left them. We still didn’t have anything to cook for the church pot luck picnic and it was highly unlikely we were going to make it to Sunday School…again. I heard my husband searching for a coffee cup in the kitchen and the guilt hit me. I looked back at the rising sun and started to pray. Dear Lord, I know there’s something wrong with me this morning - - I don’t want to take it out on my family. Please help me, I can’t do this alone, not today.

I peeked inside the window just in time to see my husband grabbing one of my collectible cat china cups then I fed the kittens so he didn’t blindly trip over them and break my china on the way out. With a smile on his face, he came out, gave me a kiss and asked if I was feeling better. All of the hostility I had felt for him all morning vanished. I sat there stunned for a minute – I have always believed in the power of prayer, but even so, I never stop being amazed when He answers them so efficiently.

My grandmother taught me when I was little to pray about everything, big and small. When I got a little older, I felt silly praying because none of them were ever answered. The boy I wanted to ask me out never did, the stylish clothes that would make me popular never appeared, my parents divorced, even though I prayed constantly that my family would stay together. My grandmother had fed me hogwash and I ate it up because I was a little girl stuck in a fantasy world where happily ever after still existed. As I continued to age, my prayer life became non-existent, and I got increasingly lost in a world that would never make sense. Bad things started to happen to me; drugs, alcohol, bad friends then eventually homelessness. That was the point that I decided to try the prayer thing again, after all it couldn’t hurt right? But these prayers were different than the prayers said by the little girl I had once been. They were angry prayers; I hate this, change this and give me, give me, give me. Did He answer? I didn’t think so at the time, but looking back after 15 + years, I can say absolutely, without a doubt. He took the hate and showed me how to love, He changed me, but not the things, and He gave and gave and gave, to this day He is still giving but I have learned now the importance of asking.

I come across so many people in today’s world that say religion makes no sense, Christianity is too hard and they are too busy to pray. These same people are also the first to complain about their lives, their circumstances and what they have in life. How is prayer hard? How can you be too busy to pray? You can lie in bed and mentally justify your actions because of what people have done to you. You can list all the ways you’ve been neglected, ignored and mistreated. You can have imaginary conversations where you put these evildoers in their place and plan ways to exact your revenge, but you don’t have time to pray?

You hear it over and over that there is power in prayer but have you ever truly allowed it to sink in. When you pray, the Lord gives you the power to accomplish the things that you can’t. When YOU pray, the Lord GIVES YOU THE POWER, but you must pray in order to be given that power. It doesn’t matter what you are praying about or what you are praying for, what matters is that you are praying. The Lord said, draw near to me and I will draw near to you. How much more simple can you get?

Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength

The world seems to be going so fast in the wrong direction. I don’t know if any of you have ever listened to any of Bishop Jakes sermons – but they are pretty powerful. I work for several different churches and faith based ministries and I can’t tell you how tiring it is to try and figure out what each one truly believes.

Traditional churches are dying. I’m not saying that to be confrontational, I wouldn’t work for so many religious organizations if I didn’t believe that there was something in them worth saving. I’m sure many people would disagree with me very passionately on that issue as well, especially with all of the media exposure regarding different “Churches” in the news right now.

This link to T. D. Jakes sermon (7 Steps to a Turn Around) is about exposure. Exposure is a good thing but we have to remember that “pain is not prejudice”. We can’t judge all of the people within a church based on one or two worshippers that have chosen greed and fleshly desires over Christ. Satan’s mission is to destroy the actual body of Christ – which is made up of many wonderful Christians that exist in all churches, denominations and walks of life.

The persecution of the churches is beginning.
Don’t be so blind that you don’t see what’s coming.
People need to really start feeling what is going on
in their own homes, their schools and their communities.

Call it whatever you want to - but if you are in a church where there is no Spirit – you need to have faith and move on;
and if you are in a church that is being persecuted but full of Spirit - you need to have faith and stand strong;
and if you are in no church at all but know the Lord - you need to have faith and step outside the box;
and whatever you do – remember that the word of God is the supreme authority - NOT the words of man.

Nobody has the power to judge you or what you believe, that will always be between you and God alone.
It’s time to test all spirits and expose them for what they are – as painful as it may be on us all.

People need to step outside the box – get out of the closet – do something – walk the walk – make a difference in whatever walk of life God has placed you – there is a reason!

This is a snippet of a CNN commentary given by TD Jakes on behalf of the Potter’s House.  It just really hit me hard. The oppression of this world is getting heavier each day – we all need as much hope as we can find.

 ”…..Many people can talk the talk of King and his messages, but there are many who choose to focus on walking the walk. We walk the walk……”

“…In light of Alan Greenspan confirming what many of us have already suspected — that we are in the midst of a recession, I would ask all churches as well as the media to help guide and encourage us through the storm of fuel bills, lost homes, lost jobs and the untold effects of this recession.

I see this article as providing a battle cry to churches of all ethnicities and denominations to not allow the perceptions of the few to distract us and prejudice us from the needs of the many.

On behalf of the 30,000 members of our church and the 4,000 volunteers who work in our various programs, not to mention the staff and our countless supporters around the world who love our church and its work, please do not malign our identity or castigate our mission.

In the final analysis of why people attend church or why they select this church over another one, or follow this minister over that minister, the answer is simple; people go to a church where they feel comfortable, where they feel their needs are being met and where they feel that they are getting assistance with the many issues that confront them in these troubled times.”

This is part of a sermon given by Joe Stowell at the Moody Bible Institute

“I’m only fifty-seven, and I already find myself weary of the hollow thoughts of what few accomplishments I may have mustered in my life.  My failures continue to embarrass me.  The inadequacies I have carried with me since my youth still frustrate me.  My insecurities still trouble my soul.  And the praise of others has an increasingly hollow ring. I’m tired of worrying about what people think about me.  I’m weary of the carnal feeling that sometimes haunts me when someone talks about his favorite preacher and it’s not me.  Bottom line, I just get flat-out tired of me.  BUT I NEVER GET TIRED OF JESUS.  After all these years, I still find Him more compelling, more engaging, more awesome, more surprising, more fulfilling, and more attractive than ever before.  I never get tired of singing His praises or of watching Him perform.  I find Him to be gripping.  Absorbing.  Beyond comprehension.  And that’s why – along with Paul, my grandmother, Billy Graham and countless others through the years – I find myself longing to know Him better.”

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:24 KJV 

Those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
Psalm 37:9 NIV 

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 KJV 

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2 KJV 

For we are saved by hope….
Romans 8:24 KJV 

Happy is he…whose hope is in the Lord his God.
Psalm 146:5 KJV 

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick….
Proverbs 13:12 KJV 

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer….
Romans 12:10-12 KJV 

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:24 KJV 

Trust the Lord your God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV 

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
Matthew 8:26 NIV 

…Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mark 9:24 KJV 

But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
Psalm 71:14 NIV 

For we are saved by hope….
Romans 8:24 KJV 

I can do everything through him that gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 NIV

“Lord, You know my inadequacies. You know my weaknesses, not only in parenting, but in every area of my life. I’m doing the best I can to raise my kids properly, but it may not be good enough. As You provided the fish and the loaves to feed the five thousand hungry people, now take my meager effort and use it to bless my family. Make up for the things I do wrong. Satisfy the needs that I have not met. Compensate for my blunders and mistakes. Wrap Your great arms around my children, and draw them close to You. And be there when they stand at the great crossroads between right and wrong. All I can give them is my best, and I will continue to do that. I submit them to You now and rededicate myself to the task You have placed before me. The outcome rests securely in Your hands.”

Author Unknown

God of life, there are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and wear us down; when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies gray and threatening; when our lives have no music in them and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage. Flood the path with light, we beseech you; turn our eyes to where the skies are full of promise.

(From Prayers of the Saints: An Inspired Collection of Holy Wisdom, ed. Woodeene Koenig-Bricker - San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1996)