Give more than you take!  We live in a world of takers!  Almost everyone is looking for something for nothing!  Now a days, the takers even act as if what they are be given is deserved or earned.  Rather than being grateful, we are often demanding!  Stop and think for a moment:  What if we all continued to be a world of takers?  What if everyone that is a giver started to be a taker?  It would not take long for this world to become a very bad place.

Real growth takes place in our lives when we give!  There is not anything wrong with receiving!  The problem comes when our focus becomes what we are receiving over what we are giving!  God gives to us, so that we can give t each other!  The very moment that we get more focused on what we are getting over what we are giving is the very moment that we begin to die!  We need to think about how can I help others, rather than always worrying about how can I get others to help me!  How can I help someone else deal with their frustrations?  How can i help someone else take advantage of the opportunities that God has put in front of them?  How can I help others accomplish their goals and achieve their dreams?

Stop thinking that the world owes you anything!  Be grateful for what God has given you and prove your gratefulness by always being willing to jump in and help in whatever way you might be needed or useful!  Zig Zigler says:  “You can get everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want!”  Let’s start planting some seeds of success in others by helping them to live the blessed life and then let’s not be to surprised when we catch ourselves enjoying the blessed life!

We tend to be a people that can get stuck in our past!  We love to talk about what we have done and where we have been.  It is not bad to thnk about our past or talk about our past, especially if we are learning from it!  We can actually experience growth in our present by taking the time to think through and learn form our past!  Our past if full of experiences that can help us to think in new ways.  I am thankful for my past, for the things that I have experienced and for the things that it has taught me.  While, I am thankful, I am also careful not to get stuck there, because I know that God has some amazing experiences of growth for me in the future!

Abe Lincoln said:  “The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time!”  With that thought in mind, I think I can handle, with God’s help – whatever is coming my way today!  To get the most out of our days, we need to have an agenda!  What do you want to accomplish today?  What does God want to accomplish through you?  You decide today – are you going to spend your life repairing or preparing?

Don’t live your life thinking:  “I wish I would have, I know I could have, I think I should have!”  Life is so much more than “would, could, and should”!  We have all made mistakes – learn from your mistakes and move on.  Think, dream and work on your future!  Get excited about what God can and will do through you as you learn to live in obedience to Him!

Take a few moments sometime today to REFLECT and learn from your past!  REARRANGE your life so that it lines up with God’s plan and His Word!  RECHARGE and head full steam into the amazing future that God has for you!

We are Northwood!  We are not a club!  We are a church – God’s church!  We are a community of followers of Jesus Christ, committed to pursue and share “Right Direction” living!  “Right Direction” is given to us by God through His Word and helps us to live blessed, fulfilled and growing lives!

We Are The People Of Right Direction!  God has given each of us a personal mission of sharing how every person can have a real and meaningful relationship with Him and of helping people to grow in that relationship.  God has given us a corporate mission of joining together to and working to accomplish His Great Commission!  We have to get Right Direction and we have to share it!

We Are The Place Of RIght Direction!  We are the “You Are Here!” spot!  A spiritual reference point for upstate South Carolina.  We help people to know where they are and how to get to where they need to go!  God has an awesome plan for each of us, so let’s jump in and get some great things done for Him!