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Quick Quote: All our discontents about what we want appeared to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have. ~Daniel Defoe

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Question to Ponder: What are you thankful for?

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From the Word: ” He went on: ‘It's what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness—all these are vomit from the heart. There is the source of your pollution’ ”  Mark 7:20-23 (The Message).

Counting My Own Blessings (Eschewing Misery)

Along the way I’ve discovered that if I follow God’s Ten Love Laws they will assist me in cultivating eternal relationships and guide me on my quest for a more joyful life.

For me, one of the best ways to live a joy-filled life is to live a life of gratitude, recognizing the small blessings in life and celebrating them daily.

One of the surest routes to misery is lusting after things—things I wish I had, things I’ll never have, things I can’t afford; empty, meaningless, useless things. God wanted to save me from this misery, so He gave me the last commandment. He recognized that looking at the lives of others to determine my path to happiness is a destructive road that leads to sorrow, pain, and disappointment. He knew that lusting after the possessions of others cannot bring me fulfillment; it can’t bring me happiness.

Instead of focusing on what others have, I should thank God for the many blessings in my life, especially the small things that make life so joyful—things like clean clothes, garden-fresh vegetables, sunshine, and rain.

I’ve discovered that focusing on the positive things in life is my happy path. So join me as I take time every day to rediscover the beauty in my life.

Final Thought: When I stop looking at what others have, when I stop wishing I had their life, when I choose instead to count my blessings, when I decided to appreciate the things I have, then, and only then, can I truly live a happier more content life.

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Personal Epiphany: An vital component of joy-filled living is forming and cultivating deep, eternal relationships with our neighbors—and with our God.

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Personal Challenge: Some days I feel unexplained fingers of dread touching the very corners of my otherwise amazing life. There is no logical explanation for these feelings, but still they come. Sometimes I quickly push these unwanted feelings away and sometimes I explore them, trying to figure out what they could possibly mean. Allowing these feelings to become embedded in my life is unacceptable. That’s why I’m challenging myself to turn it all over to God. That’s why I’m letting go of all my fears, my doubts, my worries, and all those unexplainable feelings of dread. That’s why I’m letting go and letting God’s perfect peace inundate my sometimes-troubled soul.

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Quick Quote: “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.” Mother Teresa

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Question to Ponder: What are you doing to foster authentic fellowship?

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From the Word: “So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us” 1 John 2:24-25 (NLT).

Building Strong Communities (Loving My Neighbor)

Along the way I’ve discovered that if I follow God’s Ten Love Laws they will assist me in cultivating eternal relationships and guide me on my quest for a more joyful life. I’ve also discovered that one of my deepest needs is the need for community.

In the past I’ve been deeply hurt by broken relationships in my life, relationships with my friends, my family, my co-workers, and my neighbors. Sadly, I’ve also been guilty of being the force that breaks apart the relationships in my life.

I’ve discovered that when I allow myself to begin picking apart those around me—finding fault in the things they do, looking for their failings, and pointing out their blemishes—I begin a vicious cycle of faultfinding and nitpicking that tears at the heart of the relationship, eventually completely destroying it.

Instead of tearing people down, God calls me (in commandments six, eight, and nine) to build strong communities by pouring out His unrelenting love on my neighbors. When I love my neighbors, taking Jesus’ advice of refusing to even get angry with them, when I refrain from lying about them, or stealing from them, it’s then that I begin building rich, full relationships that are the rock-solid foundation for a strong, vital community.

So join me as I allow God to heal the relationships in my life, restoring the community I so desperately desire—the community I was created for.

Final Thought: When the relationships in my life go smoothly, I live a richer, more abundant, more joyful life.

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Personal Epiphany: Our deep, unsatisfied need for companionship can only be fulfilled by a relationship with our eternal God.

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Personal Challenge: Being a good friend and neighbor requires one very important skill: Listening.

Learning, communication, and healthy connections happen when true listening occurs. That’s why I’m challenging myself to make listening a priority in each of my daily transactions, thus letting my neighbors (all those I come in contact with) know that they matter—that they are important to me.

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Quick Quote: "While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many." ~Lady Bird Johnson

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Question to Ponder: How do you cultivate community?

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Bible Blessings: If you love Me, don’t murder any of My children. If you love Me, don’t take things that aren’t yours. If you love Me, don’t tell lies about other people. ~Exodus 20:13, 15-16 (Randy Reed Paraphrased Version)

 

Defining My Neighbor (Building a Lasting Community)

Along the way I’ve discovered that if I follow God’s Ten Love Laws they will assist me in cultivating eternal relationships and guide me on my quest for a more joyful life. I’ve also discovered that one of my deepest needs is the need for community.

God created us for community. In recognition of this, and as a guideline for more joyful community living, He gave us the last six commandments. (Specifically, commandments six, eight, and nine give us godly instructions on how to properly treat our neighbors in order to build a strong, healthy, lasting community.)

For me, my neighbors aren’t just the people who live in the house next to me; my neighbors include my my boss, co-workers, the guy I meet on the bike path, the lady who cleans the public restroom, my best friend, my worst enemy—literally everyone I come into contact with throughout the day. This includes the guy who cuts me off in traffic, the woman in the express lane at the grocery store with an overflowing shopping cart, the negative nelly who can’t find anything good to say about anyone, and the woman at work who loves spreading rumors about me. All of these individuals make up my community.

In order to create a strong, healthy, lasting community I must find a way to get along with everyone I come into contact with. So join me as I determine to follow God’s loving instructions, and instead of lying about, stealing from, getting angry at, or otherwise hurting those around me, I chose to focus on the good in others, allowing God to fill my life with a divine love that I can in turn pour out on those around me.

Final Thought: Building a strong community can only happen when I stop focusing on the self-important “I” and start focusing on the all-powerful Him.

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Personal Epiphany: When I’m faithful in my relationship with God it gives me the solid foundation to continue that faithfulness in all my other relationships.

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Personal Challenge: For me, marriage has been an abundant blessing; God sent me a godly man who continually thinks of my needs. This week I am challenging myself to put my relationship with my husband on the front burner, to continue making his needs a priority and to love him with the abundance of love that God pours out on me.

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Quick Quote: “I’ve discovered that when I’m faithful in the most important relationships—those with my wife and with my God—that all other relationships greatly benefit from that faithfulness.” ~Randy R. Reed

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Question to Ponder: Have you made faithfulness a priority in your relationships?

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Bible Blessings: If you love Me, don’t destroy your marriage by cheating—be faithful to each other even as I am faithful to you. ~Exodus 20:14 (Randy Reed Paraphrased Version)

Semper Fi (Always Faithful)

Along the way I’ve discovered that if I follow God’s Ten Love Laws they will assist me in cultivating eternal relationships and guide me on my quest for a more joyful life.

Just over twelve years ago I embarked on the most amazing, challenging, uplifting, interesting, inspiring, exhilarating, and joyful journey of my life—I got married.

These twelve years have given me a deeper understanding of why the Bible frequently uses the marriage relationship as a metaphor for our relationship with God. God asks us to be faithful in both of these crucial relationships.

For me, faithfulness goes far beyond adultery, or idolatry; it goes beyond simply avoiding inappropriate thoughts about other men, or other gods. Faithfulness is about devotion and loyalty. In the seventh commandment, God calls me to love my husband. He calls me to take pleasure in his company, to get to know his every move, his every expression, his every desire. He calls me to give him that special place in my heart, and to reserve it for him and him alone.

When I do these things, I grow a deep, enduring relationship that enhances my life, challenging me to become a better wife and to continually express my ever-growing love in big and small ways.

When this relationship is firmly founded on a solid bed of trust it flourishes and grows. There is nothing better than having a faithful partner to share my life with. God wants me to have this same experience with Him.

So join me as I embrace faithfulness in my marriage and in my relationship with God, thus allowing both to flourish and grow.

Final Thought: Living a life of perpetual faithfulness is living a life of perpetual joy.

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Personal Epiphany: “Honour thy father and thy mother” means honoring my parents by the life I choose to live. Throughout the course of my life, the morals, standards, and ideals my parents instilled in me continue to live long after they’re gone.

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Personal Challenge: Because my family is notoriously bad at staying in touch, keeping in contact often falls to me, but, unfortunately, I am also terrible at keeping in touch. Even so, my family is extremely important to me, and if I want them to know that they’re important and that I care, I must make the effort to show them.

So I’m challenging myself to get into a routine of contacting them, even if it’s just a quick call to say “hello.”

I am determined to make these critical relationships a priority in my life.

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Quick Quote: In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony. ~Eva Burrows

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Question to Ponder:  When did you last tell your family how much you care about them?

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Bible Blessings: If you love Me, show it by honoring and respecting your parents. Treat them the same way you would treat Jesus and I will shower you with blessings beyond your wildest dreams. ~Exodus 20:12 (Randy Reed Paraphrased Version)