#inspiration, #spirituality

Acceptable

Universally we crave acceptance. We want to be loved and accepted for who we are. Yet, people will change themselves to try to “fit in” with the crowd they are in.

There is great freedom in knowing yourself, faults and all, and accepting yourself. This doesn’t mean you stop working on improving yourself. That’s a process that will not stop until you die.

Fitting in might work temporarily, but you will eventually be discovered. You will feel better if you remain true to yourself, and are not concerned with whether the crowd accepts you or not. Focus on making yourself acceptable to God. After all, Gods opinion is the only one that matters…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Stormy Times

Everyone experiences pain. You can’t escape it on this side of eternity. But what you do with your pain makes all the difference in the world.

Pain will either stifle you, shut you down, or pain can be used as fuel to achieve a higher purpose. It’s your choice always.

Fuel burns white hot. Let your painful experiences be ignited inside. Use your pain for the greater good…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Conversations

We have become texting machines rather than actually speaking to one another. Texting is fine for a quick check-in, but it’s not the same as having a conversation. Plus there is much that can be misinterpreted in a text, even a simple one.

Communicate with others. Have real conversations. Connecting is key to forming relationships with our fellow man. We are better together, and we are more alike than we are different…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Pursuit

Did you know that God is pursuing us every moment of every day? He wants a relationship with us, not to give us more religion but to mold us into the person He created us to be. We are on God’s mind all the time. Is He on ours?

We are rebellious by nature. No one had to teach us that. We don’t want anyone controlling us and that includes the God of the universe. Yet let’s face one simple truth: God is in control of everything. Every breath we take is a gift from our Creator.

I encourage you to take the difficult road. Surrender your will to the Creator. Learn who He is. He will guide you when you allow Him to.

From the Book of Jeremiah: “You will find me when you seek me with all your heart…”

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#inspiration, #spirituality

If Only

Many of us have heard people use the “if only” excuse. You know what I’m referring to. If only I was taller, more athletic, smarter, I had a better boss, better parents. The list could go on forever. They are simply petty put-downs, but we aren’t putting ourselves down even though it sounds that way.

God created us exactly how He wanted us to be. Each of us has been given unique gifts and talents. He expects us to use them to bring glory to Him, not ourselves. Glory means “high renown or honor won by notable achievements.” The glory goes to God because it was He who gave us the ability.

If you have been guilty of using the “if only” excuse, I encourage you to get rid of it. Eliminate it from your thinking. You are being critical of The One who created you, not yourself…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Trophies

We revere our trophies, don’t we? We have old sports trophies, trophy wives and husbands, and my least favorite: participation trophies!

Trophies are a representation of an accomplishment or achievement. We like to be recognized for what we are doing in our lives. And that’s a good thing.

The greatest trophy we can earn is not a physical trophy at all. It is doing what God put us on the planet to do. When the day comes and I face my Creator, I want His praise. That’s the trophy I’m striving for…

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#spirituality

Unseen

There is much more going on than we can see. The spiritual world is a different dimension. Just because we can’t see it doesn’t make it less real.

The Bible encourages us to keep our eyes on “things that are unseen.” Those things are eternal. Every challenge we face in our lives is a spiritual battle. Again, we don’t see it but God sends His angels to thwart our invisible enemy. Take solace in the fact that the Creator of the Universe is on our side, not the other. Therefore we are assured of victory if we just keep going.

Seeing the world through a different lens puts it in perspective. It doesn’t take away pain and struggle. But it gives us hope…

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Pledges

A pledge is a “solemn oath or vow” to something. Pledges are to be taken seriously.

In school we recited The Pledge of Allegiance every morning. I’m not sure if we really knew the full meaning of what we were saying. After all, we were just children. As I grew into adulthood I took the pledge very seriously. We should love our country and our flag.

Before making a pledge, I encourage you to consider if you can fully uphold your vow. Other people will hold us accountable, but we should be accountable to ourselves and our words above all else…

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#spirituality

Beliefs

We all have our own unique set of beliefs. But do you ever question your beliefs?

Our beliefs evolve as we age and grow. Many of us believed in Santa Claus until we didn’t. (Actually, I still believe in Santa and always will). Maybe we believed things we knew weren’t true, but refused to give in to disbelief. Maybe we believed in people who let us down.

There is one set of truth that never wavers: God’s truth. If it was true 1000 years ago, it’s still true today. What God says goes. He cannot lie. He can’t even stretch the truth. You can believe what He says.

Let’s base our belief system on the Word of God. We may not always understand it, but our lack of understanding doesn’t make it less true…

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#inspiration

By Definition

If someone asked you to define yourself, what would you say?

We have a tendency to describe ourselves in terms of our careers, our position in life, or maybe our accomplishments. While I believe those things have value, they don’t define who we are. We are way more than that.

The lasting impressions we leave have real meaning. We are here to reach and impact others. People are important. All people. Let’s strive to make a difference in the lives of our fellow man…

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