Give it time

I read an article about a young man that walked into his school's cafeteria and set himself on fire. I don't know what lead the young man to such a desperate act. I don't know what this young man's thought process was. I don't know what might have been going through this young man's mind. I pray for him, for his family, for those who know him and love him, for all our young adults.

There is so much pressure and expectation that our young people put upon themselves. Everything that isn't perfect, everything that doesn't go perfectly is a major issue to them. Allow me to say that there will be times of great defeat, times of great loss for us all. There will be times that life just seems to really let us down. We must find a way to get through each day, one second at a time.

Today's word is just a thought I came across, one that sort of sums things up for me..."Okay. Relax. Take a deep breath. It's just a bad day, not a BAD LIFE. Give it time..."

While we are going through our storms, it seems that it will rage forever and that it will NEVER get better. It can certainly feel as though life has dealt us a misery that is unbearable and impossible to overcome. However, if we will allow ourselves to take a step back and relax, we may find that there is a little sunshine amid the clouds.

Pray for those you know that are battling things. The truth of the matter is that we are all either going through a storm, coming out of a storm, or headed into a storm; it's only a matter of time. We all need the prayers of others. Then, we need to relax, take a deep breath, and remember that the storm will pass.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T

What will He do for me?

There was a song released by Janet Jackson in 1986 titled, "What Have you Done for me Lately?" I remember it well because that was my era of music. I am a product of the eighties and allow me to say that they don't make music like that anymore.

Anyway, the gist of the song is that things have changed in the relationship and, now, the guy that used to go out of his way to show his love for her has stopped doing ANYTHING special at all. So, Janet asks, "What have you done for me lately?"

We can all get in the rut of thinking that GOD has forgotten us and that He isn't doing anything for us at the moment. We can all think that, while GOD has saved us and given us eternal life, He doesn't seem to care about what is going on in my life right now. Yeah, we all get there from time to time.

Today's word is from Isaiah 58:11, NIV, which reads, "The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs...and will strengthen your frame..."

Note first that the LORD will guide us ALWAYS. It isn't that He isn't leading us in the right direction; more often than not, it is that we aren't wanting to go His way. However, He is there guiding us ALWAYS, if only we will follow.

Next, we can see that He will satisfy our needs. Here in lies the problem...we think He is supposed to give us what we want. Nay nay...He will satisfy our NEEDS. GOD will always provide everything we need to accomplish what we need to accomplish.

Finally, we can see that when things are going bad, and we feel that we can't go another step, GOD will give us the strength to keep moving on. There will be times when all we can do is rely on GOD to get us through the next moment, and HE WILL!

What has GOD done for me lately? Everything. He always does.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T

One thought is all it takes

It has been a couple of days since posting, which has become my norm lately. It seems that I am always trying to finish something, start something, do something, and that is not a bad thing at all. I do have a thought this morning though.

How does your morning begin? If it is like our house, there is a lot of running around, trying to get little ones dressed, which is like trying to put pants on an octopus at times, trying to get everyone fed, trying to get everything and everyone in appropriate vehicles, etc. I know you all know what I mean. But, what thoughts go through your mind while all this is going on. Those initial thoughts in the morning can dictate the atmosphere and attitude of our entire day.

Today's word is a simple quote that I came across that reminds me about those thoughts. It says, "One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day."

Maybe you have never noticed but I have. I have noticed that if I start the day with positive thoughts and actions, my day goes much better. If I begin the day with the thought, "Today is going to be miserable," it usually ends up that way. One little positive thought can change your whole day.

I have worked on trying to be more positive, which in turn makes the day better. Try it. You may be surprised at what an affect it will have.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T

With Wisdom comes...

It is one of the Bible stories that really reminds me of the importance of decisions. Solomon was asked what he wanted, riches, property, strength, etc. What Solomon chose was the wisdom to govern GOD'S people. The Bible tells us that Solomon got all the other stuff but, he was also the wisest man to ever live.

We are going to make decisions, and wisdom would be beneficial in the making of said decisions. I know that I make a lot of boneheaded decisions sometimes. I also know that wisdom would serve me well.

Today's word is from Proverbs 8:18, NIV, which reads, "With me (Godly wisdom) are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity."

Along with wisdom comes so much more - riches, honor, lasting wealth, prosperity. Notice that you can't get the latter without first having wisdom. A lot of lottery winners are flat broke within five years because they got a lot of wealth but they don't use wisdom in keeping it. If they had the wisdom first, the wealth might be lasting.

Being prosperous means different things for different people. For me, being prosperous means having enough to accomplish what needs accomplishing. We may never be filthy rich but I pray we always have enough wisdom not to be filthy. Seek wisdom, because with it comes so much more.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T

True Living

Everyone has their opinion of truly living. For some it is skydiving, as in, "You ain't really lived until you jumped out of an airplane with a bed sheet that someone else folded." For others it is whitewater rafting, as in, "You ain't really lived until you hit a rock with your face." For others, it is more mundane, such as, "You ain't lived until you had the double-dutch, triple chocolate, caramel, strawberry-banana thingamajig at Dale's sushi bar and day spa." Everyone has their idea of true living.

In the Book of Mark, chapter 12, we find that the Sadducees, who didn't believe in the resurrection (that's why they were sad, you see) we asking JESUS to whom would someone be married to in Heaven if they had multiple spouses here on earth. JESUS explained that in Heaven we will neither marry nor be given in marriage. We could take a lesson from that but that is not today's point...

Today's word is from Mark 12:27, NIV, which reads, "He is not the GOD of the dead, but of the living..." To which I add, "Give your life to Him and experience true living."

You have never truly lived until you live for JESUS. He tells us that He came to give us life, and to give us life more abundantly. Do you want more than you have right now? You gotta live for JESUS. Do you want something more fulfilling? You gotta live for JESUS. Do you want to experience true living? You cannot do that without living for JESUS.

Look, jumping out of an airplane is probably a pretty cool experience. Getting hit in the face with a rock is not all it's cracked up to be (no pun intended). And, I don't even know what double-dutch is. What I do know, however, is that living for JESUS is the best life you could ever live. It is true living.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T

Freedom & Confidence

I remember growing up, and even today at times, having a fear when asking someone for something out of the ordinary. Maybe it was asking my parents to let me borrow the car, or to stay over at a friends house that they hadn't met, or to let me join the military. Today, it may be asking for a certain favor or something completely out of the ordinary for me. I think, sometimes, I never ask because I don't want to upset the apple cart or I don't want to be seen as someone "needy". Mostly, though, it is just the fear of being rejected.

Ever been rejected? I would like to say that I haven't but that would be a HUGE LIE. I have been rejected for many things, including using Pops' and Momma's car, not being able to go to the mall, etc. Eventually, I think we get to the point that we quit asking because we don't want to be rejected. What do you think?

Today's word is from Ephesians 3:12, NIV, which reads, "In Him and through faith in Him we may approach GOD with freedom and confidence."

We have no reason to fear asking GOD, our Heavenly Father, for anything. Anything that is in His will for our lives, that is. He will NEVER reject us. Now, He may answer with a resounding NO, but He will always listen. The reason He will say, "No," is because He knows it is not in our best interest; He always looks out for our best interest. Yet, there is no reason to fear requesting.

GOD loves us. He wants us to ask Him for things and about things. NEVER fear talking to our Father. We all know that He knows what we need before we even ask, yet, He wants to hear His children ask. Don't be afraid to bring your requests and petitions before GOD. We can approach Him with freedom and confidence.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T

Don't let fear stop you

I remember the first time I went off a high dive. I may have been ten, maybe twelve. A group of friends and I were out swimming and decided we would go off the high dive, probably twenty feet, though it appeared to be about fifty.

We climbed to the platform and stood there as the breeze caused us all to shiver. Well, it was kinda cool but it may have been more than just the breeze causing the shivering. There were some older kids, teenagers, going off the high dive and acting like it was the greatest thing in the world. I remember this one young girl trying to do a swan dive and ending up in a spectacular belly-flop. MAN, that had to hurt!

After seeing the belly-flop and the reaction from all the older kids, which was ridicule and laughter, not care and concern, I got a little nervous about going off the high dive. I wasn't nervous about the twenty foot drop; I was nervous about making a fool of myself and having to deal with the scorn of all the others.

Today's word is a quote I came across that I really like. It says, "Let your dreams be bigger than your fears, your actions louder than your words, and your faith stronger than your feelings."

If we never allow ourselves to follow our dreams because of our paralyzing fear, we will never accomplish those things that we were meant to accomplish. If we only talk the talk but never walk the walk, no one will ever have confidence that we will follow through. If we allow our feelings to overcome our faith, we will never live the conquering lives GOD intends.

As I stood on the end of that diving board, I feared the scorn of others, but, mostly, I dreamed of doing a perfect swan dive and making just a little ripple as I entered the water. What happened, you ask? Let's just say that I made a splash, and became stronger because of it.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T

Big Deposits

Wouldn't it be nice to deposit thousands, hundreds of thousands, of dollars into your bank account? What would you do with that kind of money? If you had a billion dollars, would you hold on to it, hoping that you could turn it into two billion?

I try to keep in mind that, while Trish and I don't have a lot of money, we are making deposits everyday into the memory banks of others. Everything we do, everything we say, every misstep we make, someone is putting it into their account. I want to make good decisions, don't you?

Today's quote is from Chuck Swindoll, and it says, "Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children."

I so want others to remember me for some good things. I have done enough bad and ridiculous that I will certainly be remembered for a lot of that. But, I want there to be some good things that folks will remember me for. Now, I would truly like to live an anonymous life but, if I am to be remembered, I pray it is for something good.

Let's remember that no matter what we do, it is going into the memory banks of others. I want their accounts to be full of good things. Don't you?

Be Blessed,
Mickey T