I am here! I just haven't found my book since I left on vacation! I was reminded of a book my son called about however, as I read Jeanne's blog tonight and the quote of MLK reminded me.... I got him the book by Stormie O'Martian "Just Enough Light for the Step I'm on." He called and said that we need to read it, that he had just finished it, and really found it to be of help to him. We also watched "Facing the Giants" this weekend, and I am raving about it, as others have before me. It is incredible. I cannot say enough about it. Now I am going to go look for Joel's book! God is moving in incredible ways in our family right now, and I am just hanging on for the ride, watching the wind fill the sails!
5 comments:
Rozan, I'm glad you are on the blog. The book by Stormie O'Martian sounds like a good one. Maybe we should read it next. I'm also thinking of Joel's new book BECOME A BETTER YOU. Our bible study group went to see "Facing the Giants" too and enjoyed it. My sister read the book. Frank & I saw it b/f our bible study group attended it, and he recommended it to our group. I hope you find your book. I'm glad your family is doing well. I like the analogy of the wind filling your sails. It goes right along with chapter five--"Increasing in Favor". Joel quotes Psalms 8:5--"God has crowned us with glory and honor." Joel translates the word "honor" to mean "favor" which means "to assist, to provide with special advantages and to receive preferential treatment". He says if we live "favor-minded" we will expect God's special help and release our faith, knowing that God wants to assist us. I know in my heart that God really does want to assist me, and I use my faith all the time. This morning I lost my keys at school. I started to worry and panic, but then I remembered that I'm walking in God's favor. I became favor-minded and knew that God would assist me. He did! I found my keys in the assembly room where I had taken my advisory group during 1st period. Praise God! I stayed much calmer than I usually do when life's little trials come my way. I also like your analogy of hanging on for the ride. That's what I did when I was looking for my keys. May God continue to bless your family, Rozan, and mine too, and may all of us enjoy our families with hearts full of gratitude this Thanksgiving.
I came across this in my email today and I thought it would be appropriate to share it the day before Thanksgiving under the "Blessings" post.
"Two words which will change your life!
There are two words that, when spoken, have the most unfathomable power to completely change your life. Two words which, when they pass your lips, will be the cause of bringing absolute joy and happiness to you. Two words that will create miracles in your life. Two words that will wipe out negativity. Two words that will bring you abundance in all things. Two words which, when uttered and sincerely felt, will summon our Creator to move all things for you.
The only thing standing between you, happiness, and the life of your dreams, are two words...
THANK YOU
Gratitude is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to transform your life. If you become truly grateful, you will magnetize absolute joy to you everywhere you go, and in everything you do. In fact, without gratitude, nothing can ever change. Your life will change to the degree that you use gratitude and begin to feel grateful. If you are just a little bit grateful, your life will change a little bit. If you are very grateful, your whole life will change. If you live gratitude every single day, you will become one of the greatest human beings on the planet, and the light of your life will uplift our world.
The greatest human beings who have ever lived showed us the way with gratitude, and by their example became shining lights in our history.
In the movie “As Good As it Gets,” the lead character, whose name I’ve forgotten, is a crotchety crass old man played by Jack Nicholson. He’s a loner of a guy who has never done anything good or kind for anybody in his entire life. Late in the movie, he’s having dinner with a woman he has fallen in love with (though he’d never admit it!) played by Helen Hunt, a delightful person who is slowly breaking through the Nicholson character’s gruff persona. The Helen Hunt character is fed up with his self-centered antics. She leans across the table and says, 'I bet you’ve never paid anybody a compliment in your entire life.' She screams at him, 'Pay me a compliment! Pay me a compliment! We aren’t leaving here until you pay me a compliment!' He moans and groans, hmms and haws, until she is about to leave. Finally he musters the courage to tell her the beautiful truth. 'I’m so grateful you’ve come into my life. Because of you, I want be a better man.'
Often our Thanksgiving looks like the pre-dinner Nicholson, selfish, gruff, an “I’m-just-fine-like-I-am-thank-you-God-for-letting-me-be-me,” kind of Thanksgiving. However, Christian giving thanks is different, more akin to the newly transformed Nicholson. It’s like falling in love, like being so overblown by the lavish grace of God that we dump our self-centered platitudes and live differently. Christian thanks is being so thankful that we don’t merely speak thanks, we live thanks, becoming better people, becoming more holy, more faithful followers of Jesus Christ.
Einstein said "thank you" hundreds of times every single day! Ancient wisdom dating back thousands of years gave us the truth about gratitude. Every single religion speaks of giving thanks. All the sages and saviors of the world demonstrated the use of gratitude in all their teachings.
It is impossible to be negative when you are giving thanks. It is impossible to criticize or blame when you are feeling grateful. It is impossible to feel sad when you are in gratitude. Most people are sporadically grateful. However, to change your life with gratitude, a new way of learning how to be truly grateful is what will bring unlimited happiness into your life.
So how do you live in gratitude? Begin your day by feeling grateful. Be grateful for the bed you just slept in, the roof over your head, the carpet or floor under your feet, the running water, the soap, your shower, your toothbrush, your clothes, your shoes, the car that you drive, your job, your friends, your refrigerator that keeps your food cold. Be grateful for the weather, the sun, the sky, the birds, the trees, the grass, the rain, and the flowers. Be grateful for the stores that make it so easy to buy the things you need, the restaurants, the utilities and services and electrical appliances that make your life effortless. Be grateful for magazines and the books that you read. Be grateful for the chair that you sit on, and the pavement that you walk on. Be grateful for your favorite music that sweeps you away, and for movies that make you feel good. Be grateful for your phone that connects you with people, for your computer, for the electricity that lights up your life. Be grateful for air travel that flies you everywhere. Be grateful for the roads and traffic lights that keep the traffic in order. Be grateful to those who built our bridges. Be grateful for your pet, for your child, for your loved ones, for your eyes that enable you to read this. Be grateful for your imagination. Be grateful that you can think! Be grateful that you can speak. Be grateful that you can laugh and smile. Be grateful that you can breathe! Be grateful that you are alive! Be grateful that you are You! Be grateful that there are two words that can change your life!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
The more that you practice gratitude the more deeply you will feel it in your heart, and the depth of the feeling is the key. The more deeply and sincerely you feel it, the more you will bring absolute bliss and happiness on every single subject. Watch what happens in your life when you practice gratitude every single day and in every single moment and in every opportunity that you can. Remember, if you are criticizing, you are not being grateful. If you are blaming, you are not being grateful. If you are complaining, you are not being grateful. If you are feeling tension, you are not being grateful. If you are rushing, you are not being grateful. If you are in a bad mood, you are not being grateful.
To understand the power and the magic of gratitude, you have to experience it for yourself. So why not begin by deciding to find 100 things a day to be grateful for? As you practice gratitude every day, it won't take long before gratitude is your natural state of being, and when it happens you will have unlocked one of the greatest Secrets to Life."
Rozan,
I added some sails for your Blessings post. I really loved your last statement. Hope you don't mind.
Frankk
I thought this would go nicely on our "Blessings" blog. Merry Christmas!! What a wonderful gift are our lives!
Life Is a Gift
Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.
Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat.
Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.
Today before you complain about life -Think of someone who went too early to heaven.
Before you complain about your children -Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.
Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets.
Before whining about the distance you drive- Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another - Remember that not one of us is without faults and we all answer to our actions.
And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and thank GOD you're alive and still around.
'Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.
I received that last thread in email so I decided to post it here. I'm not sure who wrote the poem, but I received it from my cousin.
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