GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I REALLY needed to hear this. :)

Are you strong enough or fed up enough to let go of the people, habits or activities that drain you of your time, money, energy or peace of mind?

Are you ready to let go of any thing that is broken, unused, outdated, out of order or disorganized?

Are you ready to focus and face the problems or priorities that need your attention? What you avoid...controls you.

My computer consultant advised me to do a defragmentation process on a regular basis to keep my computer from crashing or bogging down.

Defragmentation is the process of eliminating
and organizing files that are scattered and filling the spaces where files have been deleted. This process makes the computer more efficient. It's like giving your computer a tune up.

WOW! What a metaphor for life. If you and I would defragmetize our lives on a regular basis, we could experience more efficiency and peace of mind. Our lives that are too often rushed, scattered, broken and out of order need defragmentation.

Be proactive before you have a crash, meltdown or become bogged down.

De-stress and reorganize our priorities, environment and schedule on a regular basis. Proactive prevention prevents poor performance.

~ by Jewel Diamond Taylor, Author and Motivational Speaker

Subject: KEEP YOUR GOALS AWAY FROM THE TROLLS

There is a type of crab that cannot be caught -- it is agile and clever enough to get out of any crab trap. And yet, these crabs are caught by the thousands every day, thanks to a particular human trait they possess.

The trap is a wire cage with a hole at the top. Bait is placed in the cage, and the cage is lowered into the water. One crab comes along, enters the cage, and begins munching on the bait. A second crab joins him. A third. Crab Thanksgiving. Yummm. Eventually, however, all the bait is gone.

The crabs could easily climb up the side of the cage and through the hole, but they do not. They stay in the cage. Other crabs come along and join them -- long after the bait is gone. And more.

Should one of the crabs realize there is no further reason to stay in the trap and attempts to leave, the other crabs will gang up on him and stop him. They will repeatedly pull him off the side of the cage. If he is persistent, the others will tear off his claws to keep him from climbing. If he persists still, they will kill him.

The crabs -- by force of the majority -- stay together in the cage. The cage is hauled up, and it's dinnertime on the pier.

The chief difference between these crabs and humans is that these crabs live in water and humans on land.

Anyone who has a dream -- one that might get them out of what they perceive to be a trap -- had best beware of the fellow-inhabitants of the trap.

The human crabs (we call them trolls) do not usually use physical force -- although they are certainly not above it. They generally don't need it, however. They have more effective methods at hand, and in mouth -- innuendo, doubt, ridicule, derision, mockery, sarcasm, scorn, sneering, belittlement, humiliation, jeering, taunting, teasing, lying, and dozen others not listed in our thesaurus.

The way to handle such people is the the same method used by Jonathon Joffrey Crab on his clan. (Remember that book about the crab that wasn't content to walk around, he wanted to learn underwater ballet?) Jonathon, knowing the dangers of attempted departure from the cage, said, "Hey! This is fun! What a gathering of crabs! I'm going to go get some more!" And he danced off to freedom.

by Peter McWilliams

July 21, 2004
Encouragement for Today

Free at Last
Mary Southerland, Director of Networking, Member of Speaker Team and
author

Key Verse:

"So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free,
and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law. (NLT)

Devotion:

I read of an Indian village that held an annual bazaar where villagers
came to sell the crafts and wares they had made during the year. Others
brought the animals they had raised. One year a man brought a covey of
quail to sell. In order to display the birds, he tied a piece of string
to their legs and the other end of the string to a stake in the ground.


All day long people passed by, watching the birds walk in a circle
around the wooden stake. No one seemed interested in buying them until
the end of the day, when a religious man approached the weary merchant.
He asked the merchant how much he wanted for the birds. Hoping to make a
profit, the man named an exorbitant price and was amazed when the
religious man immediately paid it. As soon as the transaction was
completed, the man instructed the merchant to set the birds free. Those
instructions stopped the merchant in his tracks. "Let me get this
straight," he said. "You have just paid a lot of money for these quail.
And now you want me to let them go?" The religious man's answer was
simple but profound. "They were created to be free," he offered.

The merchant did not understand but a sale is a sale. He simply
shrugged his shoulders and cut the strings, setting the covey of quail
free. The quail flew a short distance, then landed several yards away -
but continued marching in a circle around the now invisible stake. The
determined owner stepped into the middle of the circle, scattering the
birds, which flew a few yards, landed and once again began to march in a
circle. Yes, the quail were free - but they did not know it.

Like the religious man paid the price to set those birds free, Jesus
Christ has paid the price of giving His life so that we can live in
freedom. Yes, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ sets us free.
Yet, many of us live as if we are still tied to the past. We walk in
the same old paths of oppression. We entertain the same destructive
habits and allow sin to establish a foothold from which it can dispense
defeat. That is not God's plan.

Many of us are professional "leaf turners", thinking that in order to be
free we must be perfect. Every January the leaves turn over in an
attempt to make this year different from the rest. Surely, the other
side of that leaf is better than the one we have been living. When a
crisis comes, promises are bartered for deliverance. Old habits - old
patterns of behavior - old paths leading to destruction are relegated to
the ever-growing pile of broken promises.

The good news is that more than we want to be free - God wants to give
us freedom. Because freedom is a God-given need and longing, he always
provides a right way for every need to be met and ever longing to be
filled. His plan for us is freedom and God always resources His plans.


It is time for us to cut the strings of bondage. It is time for us to
choose freedom.


My prayer for today:

Father, forgive me when I settle for bondage instead of freedom. Please
show me what it means to be truly free in you. Right now, I choose to
lay down anything that would keep me from knowing your freedom in my
life. Right now, I choose you - I choose freedom. Amen!


Application steps:

Accept the truth that you were created to be free.

Believe that God is the source of that freedom.

Give God permission to work in these areas of bondage.

Choose to leave the familiarity of bondage and walk in new freedom.


Reflection points:

What areas of my life need to be set free from bondage? What is the
source of that bondage? How has it affected my life?

What changes do I need to make in order to begin my journey from bondage
to freedom?

Am I really willing to pay the price for freedom by surrendering all
control to God?


Power Verses:

James 2:12 So whenever you speak, or whatever you do, remember that you
will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you freed. (NLT)

Titus 2:14 He gave himself for us to set us free from every sin and to
cleanse us so that we can be his special people who are enthusiastic
about doing good things. (GWT)

John 8:32 You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
(NIV)

Timothy 2:6 He gave himself as a payment to free all people. (NCV)


Additional resources:

Becoming a Woman Who Listens to God by Sharon Jaynes
http://link.salemwebnetwork.com/UM/T...4349.1.1248517

Learning to Live Right from Women Who Lived Wrong by Mary Southerland
http://link.salemwebnetwork.com/UM/T...4349.2.1248517



>>> Share the good news <<<
Please forward this message to a friend!

Sandy Brunson
Jul 20, 2004


Are You....and Yet Not?

There is a verse in 2 Corinthians which always gets my attention as I read it. Verse 5 definitely pulls on my heart as it plainly urges each of us as Christians to "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves Jesus Christ is in you?....UNLESS indeed you are disqualified."

I do not want to be "disqualified" when I meet Jesus in Heaven, and I see that though my salvation has been paid for by the precious Blood of Jesus...and I can add NOTHING to that, I clearly have a "part to do" that only I can do before Him. And so part of my self examination is to ask myself the following questions.

Join me and examine your own heart and practices before our Righteous Lord
who comes to "set things in Divine order in our lives. This is part of our
preparation to be in His End-Time Army! Such questions reveal whether our
Christianity is of the "head" or of the "heart"!

Are you washed in the blood…and yet not a disciple committed to follow
Jesus?

Are you delivered from sin...and yet not disciplined to grow?

Are you justified by what He has done...and yet not sanctified by obedience
to the Holy Spirit?

Are you boasting in salvation...and yet not submitting to His authority?

Are you fond of Jesus...and yet not giving Him loving obedience?

Are you attached to Jesus...and yet not abiding in Him?

Are you gathering information...and yet not allowing transformation?

Are you running here and there...and yet not finding Him in the secret
place?

Are you seeking for encouraging "words" from other people...and yet not
listening to His still small voice?

Are you only interested in God's blessings...and yet not obeying His
commandments?

Are you wanting to find success through Jesus...and yet not willing to
surrender all at His feet?

Are you only listening to what others say He said...and yet not asking Him
to reveal Himself to you?

The answers to such questions reveal a major dividing line between those who
know "about" Jesus and those who "know" Him. A true disciple of the Lord is
a follower...one who makes every effort to live his or her life in the
manner of spirit which Jesus lived His.

Disciples study to show themselves approved unto God, as workmen who need
not to be ashamed. They rightly divide the Word of Truth and humbly and
obediently bow to the Authority who is God Almighty on a daily basis.
Disciples of Jesus Christ hunger and thirst after righteousness as a way of
life. This is THE WAY of Jesus, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. Be holy as He is
holy. Uphold Him in the practice and conduct of your life as a living
sacrifice. It is our reasonable service!

2 Timothy 2:15 * Matthew 5:6 * John 14:6 * 1 Peter 1:15-16 * Romans 12:1

Looking unto Jesus,

Sandy

"Jesus Christ is the same...yesterday, today, and forever!" Hebrews 13:2

Live It!
Today's best advice for practical Christian living

July 23, 2004

A Selfish Symphony?
Max Lucado

Self-promotion. Self-preservation. Self-centeredness. It's all about me!

Everyone told us it was all about us, didn't they? Weren't we urged to
look out for number one? Find our place in the sun? Make a name for
ourselves? We thought self-celebration would make us happy...

But what chaos this philosophy creates. What if a symphony employed such
an outlook? Can you imagine an orchestra with an "It's all about me"
approach to music? Each artist clamoring for self-_expression. Tubas
blasting nonstop.

Percussionists pounding to get attention. The cellist shoving the
flutist out of the center-stage chair. The trumpeter standing atop the
directors' stool tooting his horn. The sheet music is disregarded. The
director is ignored. What do you have but an endless tune-up session!

Harmony? Hardly.

Happiness? Are the musicians happy to be in the group? Not at all. Who
enjoys contributing to a cacophony?

You don't. We don't. We were not made to live this way. But aren't we
guilty of doing just that?

No wonder our homes are so noisy, businesses so stress-filled,
government so cut-throat and harmony so rare. If you think it's all
about you and I think it's all about me, we have no hope for a melody.
We've chased so many skinny rabbits that we've missed the fat one: the
God-centered life.

What would happen if we took our place and played our parts? If we
played the music the Maestro gave us to play? If we made His song our
highest priority?
Would we see a change in families? We'd certainly hear a change. Less,
"Here is what I want!" More, "What do you suppose God wants?"

What if a businessman took that approach? Goals of money and
name-making, he'd shelve. God-reflecting would dominate.

And your body? Ptolemistic thinking says, "It's mine, enjoy it."
God-centered thinking acknowledges, "It's God's, respect it."

Talk about a healthy shift. Life makes more sense when we accept our
place. The God-centered life works. And it rescues us from a life that
doesn't.

Subject: LEARN TO PICK YOUR BATTLES

Ask yourself...

Will this matter one year from now?

How about one month?

One week?

One day?

Then it doesn't deserve your time, your energy or your concern!

Subject: Fwd: EVER STOP TO THINK ABOUT UP?

Ever stop to think about UP?


There is a 2-letter word that perhaps has more meaning than any other 2-letter word, and that is UP.
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list.

But when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?
Why do we speak UP?
Why are the officers UP for election?
Why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends.
We use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the
leftovers, and clean UP the kitchen.
We lock UP the house.
Some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times, the little word has real special meaning.
People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing:
A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!
To be knowledgeable of the proper uses of UP, look UP the word in the dictionary.
In a desk size dictionary, UP takes almost 1/4 page and definitions add UP to about 30.
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many
ways UP is used.

It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may
wind UP with 100 or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.
When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.
When it rains, it wets UP the earth.
When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP,
for now my time is UP, so . . .
I'll shut UP

Hunger and Thirst after God!
Sandra Thompson Jul 27, 2004


Over the years we have made God far too small. We have limited Him with our human minds and reasoning. We have put Him in a box and have only believed what we could see or think. The Supernatural was not really too much in our minds. In fact, for many like myself, we were not only skeptical, but afraid of anything out of the ordinary. We, for some reason, could believe that the devil could do unusual things, but afraid when God did it.

Over the years we believed what we could figure out from the Word of God. We memorized many verses of God's greatness and yet they never really became activated in our hearts. We had much knowledge of God and His Word but with little Power.

Over the years we sat in church services out of duty or believing it was the right thing to do and yet seldom were aware of the Presence of God in the service. Seldom did we see His Power or Glory displayed. We may have been told the Presence of God was there and thought that was what we were looking for. We just accepted it as the way God worked today.

Because of the way we were taught or the way that we ourselves understood the Bible, we never really matured in our Spiritual lives. Maturing for many of us was doing things for God and many got so involved that family was ignored. We wanted more of God and thought this was how to get it.

These things produced lukewarm or weak Christians. Our focus was not on God, but on serving Him and doing and being right for Him. Therefore we couldn't really get what God intended for us done. The Scriptures although beautiful, didn't really change us. We just couldn't seem to stand firm on the Rock and believe the promise was really meant for me! Now and then, a person would appear who could really testify of God's Greatness and Power and Majesty. We accepted that they were that exception allowed by God.

Today, there is a great awakening in many lives. Many have found themselves hungering and thirsting after God. God has quickly come to those hearts and lives and we are finally really maturing in God. We are falling in love with God and want to spend time with Him. We have changed! Instead of desiring to do and do, we desire to spend time with God and in fact, we are learning the correct way to do is to first come and focus on Him and learn of Him. Worship God! Much emphasis is now on worshipping God and developing an intimate relationship with our God. With this emphasis, God is being honored and put in His rightful place. He is finding people that He can trust with His Power and they will give Him the Glory for what He does through them. God is being lifted up in these lives!

God has been waiting for this very generation. The time that He would be able to accomplish His Plan and Purpose on earth and His Glory would be able to cover the earth. We are on the very verge of such a mighty outpouring of God's Glory and Power. Those of us yielded to God in this way just can't be content anymore in the previous type of churches. We just know there is so much more if we will just allow God to be in charge and forget our plans and agendas. God will be working in unusual places. Churches will appear in unusual places. They will be like churches outside of church buildings. You may be surprised where God shows up and starts His work.

Where are you at in your spiritual life? Are you hungering and thirsting for more of God? Don't miss what God is going to do any minute. It is that close! With this great Glory, there also will be a great darkness. You will have to choose whether it will be God or your flesh which will be governed by the darkness. You won't be able to remain lukewarm.

Will you choose to hunger and thirst for more of God? Seek Him today with ALL of your heart and yield to His ways. Don't struggle - yield!

STRANGE WOMEN

By Fern Horst

"But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter
of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and
Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the
children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come
in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods:
Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives,
princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his
heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned
away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the
LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father." (I Kings 11:1-4)

Most people underestimate the power of romantic love.

The wisest man in all the world was no exception. In the Bible the above
verses follow the long and glowing account of all the vast wisdom and
lavish riches God had bestowed upon Solomon in response to his request
for wisdom. The picture painted here of his wealth, and the beauty of
his house and throne, is amazing. The Lord had warned Solomon, however,
that he and his descendents could lose all of this, plus the throne of
Israel, if he ever turned away from the Lord:

"But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and
will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before
you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off
Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I
have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall
be a proverb and a byword among all people: And at this house, which is
high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss;
and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to
this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their
God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have
taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them:
therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil." (I Kings
9:6-9)

One would think that the wisest man who ever lived would know better
than to ever allow this to happen.

But happen it did. The avenue was subtle. It was through the love of
"strange" women -- women who did not worship Solomon's God, but who
followed after many other gods. In order to please his wives, Solomon
built altars to these gods and even worshipped them himself.

They say that the highest form of wisdom is learning through others'
mistakes, rather than ignoring the lessons of those in the past and
having to learn through our own. If there's ever a lesson to be learned
from the wisest man who ever lived, it is this: it is of the utmost
importance that we choose very carefully the recipient of our romantic
affections.

Our world, and even many of our churches, say that having a romantic
love in our lives is a must, even if the "pickings" are slim. Wisdom
says that we reserve the affections of our heart only for one whose
commitment to the Lord and keeping His Word matches ours. Otherwise we
risk the loss of what is most important to us, not only for our earthly
life, but also for eternity.

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew
6:21).

Growing Pains
by John Fischer

Often, as a child, when I complained about some ache or pain that had no clear physical explanation, the simple parental diagnosis was: “It’s just growing pains.” I used to imagine my muscles and bones actually hurting while they stretched and grew. While I know nothing about the scientific nature of this evaluation, I do know it has a spiritual application that is entirely accurate. It hurts to grow.

It hurts to grow because we have to die to old ways in order to live anew, and old ways die hard. We place a high premium in life on dying peacefully, but in reality dying almost always is accompanied by pain. We have dependencies with coping mechanisms that have enslaved us. It’s hard letting go of our security blankets.

In a touching scene from the romantic comedy, Mr. Mom, Michael Keaton has to coax his toddler’s “whoopee” blanket away from him. Upon rendering it up, the little boy asks for a moment to himself to grieve the loss and we can almost touch his pain. We would like similar moments to grieve our little daily deaths, but we have to learn to move on, because the pain of losing is followed by the greater joy of finding that God always meets us on the other side of our loss.

It hurts to grow because growing usually means facing some fear or weakness that has limited us. Though God saves us through no effort of our own, he asks for our cooperation when it comes to our spiritual growth. Real spiritual growth only happens when our effort to act upon God’s word meets the provision of the Holy Spirit in us.

Or as Paul teaches, “Put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him” (Philippians 2:12-13 NLT).

This is always the spiritual principle of growth. We obey by stepping into our weakness or our fear, hoping in faith that because it is something He asks of us, He will meet us somewhere along the way with the power to do it. This is almost always a painful proposition because it requires a step into the unknown. What if God doesn’t show up? What if this is all a hoax? I suppose you can ask these questions, but you will never get them answered on this side of the pain. You have to take the step, believing that there is something there that you can’t see. And if that doesn’t hurt, it’s probably not faith.

So if what God asks you to do today hurts, remember what you’re feeling is just growing pains.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John Fischer is an author, speaker, and song writer based in Southern California. His latest book, Love Him in the Morning has been released by Revell Publishing.

I Am Patient In This Time Of Change, Knowing My Future Is In God's Care.

Finding the most fulfilling work for me might mean being willing
to let go of a position that no longer serves me or one in which
I can no longer serve effectively.
The end of one form of employment might mean that I need
to be available for a better opportunity.

As I pray for improvements in my work situation,
I realize that things may need to shift and change
for those improvements to take place in my life.

Patience is key in any time of change,
including a change of employment.
While I patiently await new opportunities,
I bless my current job situation for the education
and advancement it has brought me.
I trust that my future is in God's care.

"The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose
of the Lord that will be established."--Proverbs 19:21

THE DAILY MOTIVATOR
Friday, July 30, 2004

Beyond need
+++++++++++++++++++

When you constantly think in terms of needs, it focuses your
thoughts on what you don't have, on lack and limitation.
That kind of thinking will hold you back.

Instead, set your thoughts free to soar, away from the
needs, away from the limitations. For every perceived need,
there is an opportunity.

Direct your thoughts toward those opportunities. Instead of
living in bondage to your needs, live each moment in
_expression of your highest and best possibilities.

That doesn't mean that you abandon your responsibilities, or
live in a fantasy world where there are no problems. It
means that your best response, to whatever life may hold, is
to connect with the positive possibilities.

Yes, there are very real factors that impede your progress,
very real challenges to be overcome. And there is absolutely
no sense in adding to those obstacles with your own limiting
thoughts.

Your thoughts are yours to create, so choose the ones that
generate positive, productive energy in your life. When you
stop needing so much, you can start doing so much more.

Ralph Marston

Subject: Fwd: Through your fears

Look in the direction of your fears. You will likely see a path
toward new success and achievement. Those things which you fear represent significant challenges for you, and in challenge there is much value.

The things that challenge you most will also compel you to grow the most. The places you've always feared to go are filled with unexplored territory. There's no telling what treasures you could find there.

A few of your fears will genuinely keep you out of trouble. Most of
them, though, are not there to stop you but to prepare you. The more you confront your fears and work through them, the more new and fertile ground you'll uncover. There's a whole rich and wonderful world waiting just on the other side of your fears.

Heed your fears by adequately preparing yourself. Then march right on through those fears toward the golden rewards which are beyond them.

THE SHOES

A preacher had been told by the head of a great shoe factory, that if he found any poor people who needed shoes, he could come to him and get them. In making his rounds one day soon afterward, the minister invited a man to attend his church.

"I would like to go," said the man, "but my shoes are so nearly worn out that I would be ashamed to go to a meeting with them, and I am too poor to get any better."

"Well, that shall not keep you away," said the preacher; "I will get you a pair of shoes if you will come."

"But I wouldn't like to go without my wife," returned the man, "and her shoes are no better than mine." The preacher promised to get the shoes for her, too.

"It would hardly be right to leave our three children at home, and they are all barefooted, too," said the man in a hesitating way.

The preacher saw that he was in for it, and promised that the children should also have shoes. He then got their measuremen ts and went to see his friend the shoe man. He feared that he was presuming too much on the promise he had received, and thought the shoe man might feel that he was abusing his kindness, but when the situation was laid before him, the merchant smiled and said: "All right; come with me."

Together they took the elevator and went to one of the upper floors, where they landed in a large room that was filled with shoes. The shoe man pointed to one whole side of the room, and said: "All the shoes on these shelves are set aside for just such cases as yours, and when you have any more of the same kind just come here and help yourself."

Of course the preacher felt very small when he thought of how little he had expected from his generous friend, in proportion to what he was willing to give.

Sometimes we go to the Lord with just such dishonoring faith.