Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

I love junk food!  I seem to have no will power when I am around it.  I know what I need to do or eat to become healthier, but I don’t always do it. Now, every now and then, I get fed up with how my clothes fit and complain that I need to lose weight. That’s when I start to make better choices about my food and activity level.  I’ll stick to it for about 2 weeks.  And then, there will be doughnuts in the church hall after the Sunday morning service! I can’t resist so I eat one. There I am, back at square one!   Have you ever been there?  Did you feel just as discouraged as I did? Maybe you are struggling with something else that is keeping you from being health physically.

God says in 1 Cor. 3:16-17 that we are a temple.  He lives within us. No one will get away with vandalizing God’s temple.  How are you treating your body? Are you filling it with food and drink that will nourish you and make you stronger?  Are you filling your hearts with the word of God so your spirit will become stronger?

Think of it this way:  What if a close friend let you borrow their fully loaded BMW.  They left you with a list of instructions on how to care for the car; what type of gas to use. How to clean it, what kind of oil to use…….. and so on.  Will you follow that laundry list of instructions?  You bet! because that car, its expensive and you wouldn’t want anything to happen to it.  Your friend trusted you with their car and the last thing you want to do is let them down.

Just as your friend trusted you with their car, God trusts you with his temple (our bodies).  He also gave us a list of instructions on how to take care of this temple not just physically but spiritually as well.  We can find the instructions in God’s word.verses on gluttony

Before I put that next doughnut in my mouth, I am going to ask myself if eating that doughnut will nourish my body in a way that God intended and ask God for help.  Try this the next time you are faced with something that could vandalize the temple God has given you.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Always remember, as hard as we try to be disciplined at something, there will be times that we fall and become discouraged.  We can’t give up!  We are not perfect, only God is.  We all fail at things sometimes.  We just need to make sure that we all get up again. That can only be done with God’s help.

Many Blessing,

Linda

Be Kind

For length of days and years of life

they will add to you.

Do not let kindness and truth leave you;

Bind them around your neck, 

write them on the table of your heart.

So you will find favor and good repute

in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:2-4

It is easy to be kind when we are feeling great and things in our lives are going well. What about the days when we are not feeling so great and things are not going so well in our lives?  Do you struggle with being kind in those days?  I know I do!  It is in those days, that we need to remember Proverbs 3:2-4.  Keep kindness with you always.

When God speaks of kindness in this verse, he doesn't want us to only be kind to the people we know.  God wants us to be kind to everyone, even if we do not know them and even if they are not kind to us.  This definitely takes me out of my comfort zone, but I know God will be right there with me. I believe it will strengthen me in the end.

Be kind to everyone you meet even if they are not kind to you.  You never know, what battle they are fighting and your kind words or deeds could be just what they needed.


"Thank you Lord for taking me out of my comfort zone and giving me the courage to be kind even in a difficult situation."

Many Blessings,

Linda

We can’t do it alone

Depend on God

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
   he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
   he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, you people;
   pour out your hearts to him,
   for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:6-8

Ever have one of those days?  You know the ones.  The ones where you just can't seem to get it together or catch a break. For some reason the alarm didn’t wake you.    You realized that you had forgotten to put the load of laundry you did last night in the dryer. Now you are forced to wear the clothes from the back of your closet.  You still need to make your lunch. Your children missed the school bus.  There is traffic on the freeway that makes you even later for work.  There are 2 different meetings tonight for your child’s school and soccer practice. Things are just not going your way!  You feel like you are being pulled in 20 different directions.

You are not alone!  I have had many of those days.  Right in the middle of the chaos, I will call out to God. 

“Lord, Thank you for these trying times, because I know there is a purpose for them.  Please give me the wisdom to learn from them, the strength to make it through, and comfort in knowing that you are right there with me”

The next time you are feeling pulled in 20 different directions, reach out to God and ask for help.

Many Blessing,

Linda

material wealth

Is it worth it?


You can't watch TV without seeing ads for the latest gadgets, the best jeans, or the most luxurious car.  They imply your life will be easier, or more productive if you had these things.  They imply that by having the latest gadget, the best jeans or the most luxurious car you will become accepted into society and more popular.  We all want to have more then the other guy. We all want our stuff to be the best stuff.  This causes us to constantly pursue the next latest and greatest material thing.  It makes us focus on being RICH in money.

If we are spending all of our time and effort constantly pursuing material wealth, how much time is left to spend  pursuing spiritual wealth? NONE

Think of God's path for you as a paved road. To stay on that path, we must live our lives according to his plan.

Let me tell you a story.  Don't worry, It will not be a long one!
One day while I was driving to work, the traffic seemed heavier than usual. " There must be an accident" I said to myself. As I made my way up the road at a snails pace, I noticed two cars in the shoulder lane.  Curiosity got the best of me and I just had to turn my head and look! Before I know it, my car is going in the same direction as my eyes. I had lost focus of my purpose. Thank God I was able to correct the situation quickly!

 Think of the road as God's path for your life.  The car is you. The distractions on the side of the road are the next latest and greatest thing.  Just like the distractions on the side of the road cause you to lose focus on driving, the constant pursuit of material wealth causes you to lose sight of God and his plans for you.

God wants us to pursue him. His love for us is eternal. The material things of this world are not.

We all have times when we lose focus and stray from our path.  God is there to bring you back. Spend time each day in his word. Spend your time and effort building your Spiritual wealth.  Being RICH in God's word, will keep us on the path he has chosen for us.

God and Money No one can serve two masters. 

He will either hate one and love the other,

or be devoted to one and despise the other.  

You cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew 7:24 

I almost DELETED that!!!!

Going through my email today, I did what I normally do.  I look at the subject line, delete all the unimportant mail, and keep what I think is important.  I was just about to delete an email that I thought was unimportant, when I got the feeling that I should read it.  Thank God for that feeling, because it was important.  I have been struggling with managing my time. I was thinking of cutting back on the time I spent on this one particular project that I felt took a lot of time and only benefited me.   When  I read that email, I realized that the project I was working on is very important.  That email and my feeling that I should not delete it was Gods way of letting me know that I should stick with it.

That got me thinking.  How often do I delete the feelings I have about what I should or shouldn't do. How often do I delete the thoughts in my mind that tell me something is right or wrong. How often do I delete the little moments in my life that come and go so quickly. How often do I delete these things because I think they are unimportant.

Being thankful has helped me realize that everything is important in my life.  Every feeling, every thought, every little moment in my life was put there by God. Every feeling, every thought, and every little moment in my life serves a purpose. They are Gods way of speaking to me.

How many feelings, thoughts or little moments in your life have you deleted? I may be wrong, but I don't think there will be a burning bush coming our way. Don't delete those feelings, thoughts or little moments! They are Gods way of speaking to you.  Open your heart and your mind and listen to what God has to say.

Let's be thankful for all those feelings, thoughts and little moments that God has given to us.

Many Blessings,
Linda

We are all invited

"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to 

a king who gave a wedding feast for his son"

Matthew 22:2

Many are invited, but few are chosen.

Matthew 22:14

I believe we are all invited to the Kingdom of Heaven, but we can only enter if God has chosen us.  To me, entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven is not and entitlement,  it is something I have to earn by the way I live my life.  The verses above came from the Parable of the Wedding Feast Matthew 22:1-14. Read it today and think about how you are living your life.  Would it earn you entrance into The kingdom of Heaven?

Many Blessings,

Linda

Would you like to be the greatest in the Kingdom?

If the answer is YES, then start acting like a child! Yep, You read that right.  The disciples asked Jesus who was the greatest in the Kingdom.  Jesus said in reply, "unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven"
taken from Matthew 18:1-4.

Think about it for a minute.  How do children act?

• they hold no grudges 
• they love unconditionally
• they take no notice of race or religion 
• they make friends easily with anyone
• they always forgive
• they always trust
• they believe they can achieve anything 
• they treat everyone the same
• they enjoy life 
• they can be silly and goofy and not worry about what others think of them

Yes!, I would like to be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
I am going to start acting like a child.  Are you with me?

Many Blessings,
Linda