Ecclesiastes 1:14

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun;
all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

I can’t tell you how many times I have prayed these exact words; What DO you want from me Lord?

I truly love the Lord with all of my strength and all of my heart and all of my soul…but now what? For me, there is this constant, strengthening magnetic pull from within to serve, the only problem is that I have no idea what it is I am suppose to do. Most people that have witnessed me, and my behavior, this past year are probably convinced that I have some rare form of adult spiritual attention deficit. I hop from one mission to another in a heartbeat, continually waiting for that special one that is going to fill this great need of servitude in my heart. There have been times that I, myself, have thought there was something seriously wrong with my brain.

All I can say is that it hasn’t been for lack of trying on my part. Although none of my missions have filled the need in my soul, they have each nourished it in some way. The greatest thing I have achieved is a true love for people. In the past, I have always shied away from interacting with others. Maybe out of fear, maybe distrust, but more than likely just plain old lack of self-esteem. Other people seemed to have it all together and here I was still trying to figure out how to just be a decent wife and mother.

I have to admit that I started losing faith in my purpose. I gave everything I was doing 100% and yet nothing was bearing fruit as far as I could see. So I quit. Maybe the Lord didn’t have a purpose for me, so I might as well just do the dishes and be done with all my hopes and dreams of being a true servant. It wasn’t until I quit that I started to hear the Lord’s answer and it was nothing near what I imagined. In the quiet of my heart, He asked what I wanted. Of course this started another argument in my mind, surely He missed a prayer or something because I wanted to serve HIM. But no, He doesn’t miss prayers; He knows my heart even when I don’t, so why was He asking ME what I wanted? This definitely sent me into a tailspin for a while. Sometimes we get to thinking so much, that we forget how important it is to listen.

When I finally shut my mind up long enough to listen, the message was clear, God wants me to be happy. Whoever said that there is beauty in simplicity, knew how to listen when the Lord speaks. God doesn’t need you to change the world. That’s not saying that the world doesn’t need help, but seriously…He’s got it under control. Sometimes we get so full of our own knowledge and influence that we forget where it comes from. You alone cannot cure world hunger, you alone cannot shelter the homeless, and you alone cannot remove hypocrisy, hate and evil. What you alone CAN do is trust that all of the little things you do every day make a difference to God and HE ALONE can change the world. It’s an amazing concept I know, but definitely one worth experiencing.

Psalm 13:5
But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

No pun intended…. but very well put!

America needs to understand that many people have no clue what it’s like to truly hit the bottom. “The bottom is actually a very, very horrifying place that I never want to go back to again, but you know what? I’m kind of glad I was there.” – Glenn Beck

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L A U G H   A L L   T H E    W A Y   H O M E ! ! !

 

The Three Little Pigs  by   Chonda Pierce

Baby I can see you’re Halo…..

In the very beginning I asked you sincere….
Can I call you Angel, my sweet friend so dear?

You looked at me with humility and grace,
as if you had not heard.
But in the pits of my hell
you just showed me God’s word,

I continued to ask you again and again…
Can I call you Angel, for you‘re more than a friend?

Then you started to love all my deep pain away,
You helped clear my mind of what the world had to say,
You showed me the path of a love greater than yours,
You said to let go of the pain and the wars,

through the battles I fought,
and yet asked again…
“Can I call you Angel, my lover, my friend?”

Not once have you answered this question of mine,
But I hope that you see through this journey of time,
That God sent you to me, to love and to care
to help lighten my load when it was too hard to bare.
And though you can’t see your own wings so bright,
I see them each day and Christ’s glorious light.

So this time… I say, I don’t ask – yet I know,
that I carry your love and the light that you’ve showed,
God knows each man’s heart and I know yours is true.

So I call you My Angel
and I will always love you.

 

© this is the original work of the owner of this blog – please do not reprint without permission.

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

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.”

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

If you have been struggling with sickness, anxiety or depression,
I guarantee you will feel better after listening to this series by Joyce Meyer!

The Celebration of Life – Part 1     Listen to the broadcast

The Celebration of Life – Part 2     Listen to the broadcast

The Celebration of Life – Part 3     Listen to the broadcast

http://www.joycemeyer.org/OurMinistries/Broadcast/Radio/Archive/