Tag: video

It can be done

new-year

Humor time

  • Remember you can reset your resolutions on January 14th (Orthodox New Year) and February 8th (Chinese New Year). After that, even I can’t help you.

  • My 2017 resolution is for everyone else to gain the 50 pounds I refuse to lose.

  • I have only one resolution. To rediscover the difference between wants and needs. May I have all I need and want all  I have.

  • This New Year’s I’m going to make a resolution I can keep: no dieting all year long.

  • May all your troubles last as long as your New Year resolutions.

Jemima was taking an afternoon nap on New Year’s Eve before the festivities. After she woke up, she confided to Max, her husband, ‘I just dreamed that you gave me a diamond ring for a New Year’s present. What do you think it all means?’
‘Aha, you’ll know tonight,’ answered Max smiling broadly.
At midnight, as the New Year was chiming, Max approached Jemima and handed her small package. Delighted and excited she opened it quickly. There in her hand rested a book entitled: ‘The meaning of dreams’.

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It Couldn’t Be Done             (This is one of my favorite poems.)
BY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
      But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
      Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
      On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
      That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
For the entire poem visit: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/44314
Hope you enjoy the video.  🙂 Don’t let my face scare you. 🙂
 Adapted from the works of Edgar Albert Guest and Dr. Mattie Moss Clark.

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I stepped away from my blog for a while, but now I’m back.  I didn’t mean to stay away so long.  I felt neither motivated nor inspired nor encouraged.  The next thing I knew Dec. 2016 had arrived and I had posted nothing since February.  I had received emails during the past few months, letting me know that people were still following my blog. That news encouraged me, but it was God who gave me that final push.  I can’t say exactly what He did, but He did it – on the inside of me. 

My job situation hasn’t changed (for more of my story, you’ll need to read previous blogs).  I’m still working in retail, just a few hours a week.  I’m still waiting on that full time job or several streams of income that equals a full time job.  I should be on cocaine, an alcoholic, or suicidal – but God!  He has kept my mind.  I’m still praising Him.  All of my needs are constantly being met.  I’m not homeless.  I’m not broke.  I’m not depressed.  I haven’t had to beg, borrow, or steal.  I’m not bragging on me; I’m bragging on God.  I’m learning how to patiently wait on Him and to continue with my projects while I’m waiting and praising Him.

My New Year’s resolution is to keep going, keep trying, even when I don’t feel like it. Write when I don’t feel like it.  Make videos, sing my songs, and continue with my radio broadcasts – even when I don’t feel like it.   Yep, that’s the plan.

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You can – – Do Better!

One of my quests is to encourage people (myself included) to do better (mentally, spiritually, and physically).  Do better today than you did yesterday.  Do better this week than you did last week.  Do better this month than you did last month.  Do better in 2017 than you did in 2016.

In order to do better, we must set some goals.  I want to explore goal setting.  Stay with me because it’s going to lead to a challenge, but it may take a few blogs to get there.

Research shows that if you’re going to be successful at almost anything in life, the very first choice to make is to set some goals.  When we set goals we must realize that it may not be a walk in the park.  There are things we are going to have to start doing and things we are going to have to stop doing or do less of, if we’re striving to be fit for God’s use (in every area of our lives) until we die. 

Hebrews 12:1 & 2 reads, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

This verse tells us that we are to run a race that has been marked out for us.  We trust God to set the race up but we must also recognize that we have a part to play in order to cooperate with His plan.  In order to run the race, we have to endure some training.  We have to set some goals.

  • Let’s look at some benefits of goal setting.

Goal setting is a spiritual discipline.  God is a goal setting God.  He has goals for history that have not happened yet. God has goals for His family, the church, that haven’t happened yet. God has goals for your life that have not happened yet. God is a planner.  He doesn’t just sit around and let things happen.  If God plans and God wants us to be like him, then it would make sense that He wants us to set goals also.

Godly goals are statements of faith. They affirm our trust in God. When you say, I believe God wants me to accomplish this by this date, that’s a statement in faith.

Goal setting builds character.  One of the ways you develop character is by setting a goal and going after it and not giving in when you have all kinds of difficulties. It is in that process, that struggle, you develop the kind of character that God wants you to have.  Goals are achieved with God’s power.

“We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.”Prov. 16:9 That’s why we fail at our goals. We don’t depend on him. 

Zechariah 4:6 says, “You will not succeed by your own strength or power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.” 

Prov. 3:5& 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.”

First you’ve got to trust the Lord with all your heart and rely on His power.  Then you need to get either a partner or in a small group.  Accountability plays an important role goal setting.  You check up on each other and help each other out.

The goals that you set should be “SMART” goals.  Ask yourself: if this goal is:

  • Specific– is it clear what the goal is? Is it clear exactly what I mean?

  • Measurable– how will I know if I have achieved the goal? How will I measure my success?

  • Attainable– is it possible to achieve this objective? What do I need in place to make it attainable?

  • Relevant– is this objective one that I consider appropriate. Does it deliver wider priorities? Is it worth doing?

  • Time-bounded– by when am I going to achieve this? Setting a timescale provides focus and urgency, clarifying when you intend to achieve the objective. The objective has a deadline and is therefore more than just a wish!

You may have some setbacks. You may fall down. But the good news is: life is a marathon. Here’s the key to the marathon of life: You’re not in a race to run fast. You’re in a race to end well. You’re in a race to get to the finish line. You make progress one step at a time. That’s the way you go towards your goals – one step, one day at a time. 

 It can be done!  You can do better. I’ll share more about this subject in the next blog.

What are your goals for 2017?  How’s it going so far?  Feel free to share with us.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  great-day-face

 

Sources:

https://clipartfest.com/download/5bb6ef60a4fcffd96195bbe256229babea17e618.html

http://www.jokes4us.com/holidayjokes/newyearsjokes.html

http://www.theholidayspot.com/newyear/jokes.htm#WDyqsMqHQmTQ0sIO.99

https://www.valentinesdaywishes.org/happy-new-year-poems-jokes-shayari-memes-fireworks-images-photos-2017.html

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/44314

New International Version (NIV)    https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012

 

 

Hold on, it’s not over.

I love plants!  I don’t have a lot of space for them so I only have five.  I try to get plants that are low maintenance because I don’t have the gardener’s touch that my mama had.  I talk to my plants.  Research says it’s good for them.  I have given my plants names:  Tangy, Grapefruit, Sunshine, Blossom, and Rae.

One summer day a few years ago, I decided to try to prune Rae’s leaves cause she was getting too big and I didn’t want to put her in a bigger pot.  Then I had this bright idea to just take some of her leaves out of the pot.  I ended up taking her completely out of the pot, and she kind of fell apart.  I put her back in after removing some of the leaves.  She didn’t like it.  Her leaves started withering one by one.  I was sad to see that she was dying.  I took her outside on the back porch.  She’s an indoor plant but I thought that maybe being outdoors would help.  It didn’t seem to help.  She continued to wither away.  I saw little gnats on her soil.  I placed her in the corner on the back porch and stopped watering her.  I figured it was over.

All her leaves withered and turned brown.  She looked completely dead to me.  My feelings were a little hurt because she had been with me for a long time.  You may be saying, “My goodness, it was only a plant”, yes, but it was my plant.  One day I was getting ready to throw everything out of the pot, I saw something green.  Now remember all the leaves were withered and brown.  I immediately pulled out the brown, withered leaves and there it was: a little green baby leaf.  I asked myself, “How could this possibly be?”

I added some dirt to the pot and left it outside.  I noticed a few days later that she seemed to be doing just fine.  I cleaned up the pot and took it back inside.  Everyday Rae grew a little bigger, and then I saw another leaf.  I smile now every time I look at Rae.  She seems to be doing just fine.  What would have happened had I just dumped everything out of the pot without looking closely at it?  Yes, it was just a plant, but I think God used that plant to remind me and you that, it’s not over until He says it’s over.

Are you on a quest to be fit for the Master’s use?  Have you been on a quest to be fit for the Master’s use and have given up and quit?  Have you been letting healthy living information that you have heard about go in one ear and out the other, thinking that it’s too late to change or improve now?  Well my friend, it’s not too late!

Let me share two examples of when it looked like it was over, but God said it wasn’t.  We read in the 11th chapter of John about three people whom Jesus loved: Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus.  One day Jesus got the message that Lazarus was sick.  Jesus didn’t go see about him for two days.  Lazarus had died and had been buried by the time Jesus arrived.  Now you’ve got to admit, this was a hopeless situation.  It was indeed over!  When Jesus arrived, they took Him to the tomb where Lazarus was buried.  Jesus took time and spoke to God the Father.  He then cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth and in the first part of the 44th verse we read: And he that was dead came forth.   God showed everyone that it was not over!

We read in the book of Exodus about the freedom of God’s people from slavery and the beginning of national identity.  Pharaoh had finally let the people go in verse 13, but later had a change of heart.   He took his army and went after them.  They had gotten as far as the Red Sea when they saw Pharaoh and his men.  This situation looked hopeless.  I’m sure they thought it was over.

God said it wasn’t over!  He divided the waters of the Red Sea like a wall in two directions at once (north and south).  The children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground.  The Egyptians pursued and went in after them, like a bunch of fools.  God released the waters once the children of Israel had crossed to the other side.  That was the end of Pharaoh’s army.  They drowned in the Red Sea.  Can’t you just imagine God saying, “Now, it’s over“!

You may be sick in your in your mind, in your body, in your spirit and/or financially.  It may seem like every time you lose five pounds, you gain back eight.  It may seem like trying to live a healthy lifestyle is just too difficult. You may feel like you will never get to where you desire to get to in life.  You may have already said, “Just forget it.”  There have been many times when I have said those words – but God is saying, “It’s not over.”

Job 22:28 reads, “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.”   We want to decree and declare these words:  “It’s not over, it’s not over, it’s not over until God says it’s over.”  Family members may say it’s over.  Circumstances may say it’s over.  You may have said before you read this blog, that it’s over.  My friend, it’s not over until God, the author and finisher of your faith says it’s over!

You can still experience peaceful living if you have a right relationship with God.  You can still learn a way of eating that is simple, balanced, and easy to understand.  You can still make time to do some form of exercise. You can still stop smoking and drinking.  You can still stop speaking negatively.  You can still be delivered from any habit.  You can still have the victory. You can still give your life to Christ and let Him use you.

When I think of Rae, I am reminded that it’s not over until God says it’s over!

A little humor

Jonah and the Whale

One day, a teacher was talking to her first grade class about whales when a little girl had a question.

Little Girl: “Do whales swallow people?”

Teacher: “No, even though they are much bigger than a person, they have throat pleats that filter their food of krill and plankton.

Little Girl: “But Mrs. Thurston says Jonah was swallowed by a whale.”

Teacher getting angry: “Blue whales cannot swallow people.”

Little Girl: “Well, when I get to heaven I’ll just ask Jonah if he was really swallowed by a whale.”

Teacher, still red with anger: “What if Jonah went to hell?”

Little Girl: “Well, then you can ask him.”

Do you want to go to Heaven?

Father Flannagan was diligently trying to win souls for the kingdom of God. One day he had a fine idea. He would go to the local pub to evangelize the local drunks and bar flies. He walks into the pub and notices one of his flock from the local church he preaches in. “John!” he screams, John! do you want to go to heaven!!!! John answered,” Father Flannagan,, why ,,yes! of course I want to go to heaven.”” Then, get over here behind me now,” says the father. “Patrick!, Father Flannagan screams out again.. “Patrick do you want to go to heaven?” Well father,, yes… yes ,, I do. “Then get over here with us now… so Patrick joined the two men..

Father Flannagan spotted anouther and said,, ” you! do you want to go to heaven? The third man paused. No answer! Flannagan again asked the man,” you sir! Do you want to go to heaven!! The man paused again and then shouted,” no!” the Father was dumbstruck and asked the same quesion,, What do you mean you DON’T WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN?? The young man then stated, ” no,,not today ,, it seems as if you’ve got a group to go today and I don’t want to go today!!!!

Bye for now.

Jonah and the Whale            http://www.jokesclean.com/ChristianJokes/

Do you want to go to Heaven?     Submitted by Evelyn  http://www.christian-jokes.net/Jokes/Heaven-and-Hell-Jokes/404-Do-you-want-to-go-to-Heaven.aspx

http://clipartpictures.org/images/stories/flowerclipart/potplants/Plant_in_Pot3_Flower_Clipart_Pictures.png