Tag Archives: self improvement

Blogroll, faith, Growing, life, mindfulness, peace

Enjoy The Game!

If life were a football game, then I would guess I am some where between half-time and third quarter. It’s hard to believe that the first half of my life is over with, gone and cannot be relived, but it is and I have to say: I have learned much and realize more clearly than ever before that there is still so much left for me to learn.

There is a lot that we can understand about life, but then there is also a lot that is a mystery. There are some things we are supposed to figure out and learn from and other things that we just need to allow to unfold at their own pace and pleasure.

I like the idea of just allowing things to unfold, because it takes a lot of self imposed pressure off. I don’t have to try so hard to make things work, I just need to get out of the way, enjoy the journey, watch and learn as life does it’s thing.

Not everything is about toil and hard work, sometimes it’s about working smarter, not harder. Who says we have to understand everything? Why do we feel like we have to explain everything away? Why can’t we just be content with saying: “I don’t know???”

Live life long enough and your expectations will be shattered and you will discover that it everything is still going to be okay, because our expectations are often very unreal anyway. We would do well to practice the art of “ALLOWING”. Allow life to be what life is going to be. Stop trying to manipulate, calculate and subjugate life into what you think it should be and simply learn to enjoy allowing life to be whatever it is going to be.

Learn the joy of sitting back and observing life and it’s beauty as it unfolds like a flower revealing the secrets it has hidden away some where deep inside of itself. Shut up, judge less and listen, really listen and you will be amazed at how your mind will open up and allow your heart to be touched by the mystery of life and living…

Blogroll, Enlightenment, faith, God, Gratitude, life, mindfulness

Daily Gifts!

When I was a young boy growing up, I remember the older folks saying: “The older you get the quicker time flies!” I remember it used to seem like it took forever for Christmas to get here. Now that I have lived more than a few years, I have discovered that what the older folks were saying is very much true. I’m not sure why it is this way, but it seems that every year, the days go by faster and quicker than the year before.

I am at the age now that I realize what a precious gift a day is. Once it is spent, we cannot get it back and so I try to get the most out of and enjoy every one I get. At some point in my life, I read some where that every day presents us with three very special gifts. Those gifts are: Time, energy and choice.

Every day presents us with the gift of time. We have 24 hours to rest and sleep, to work and earn; and to serve ourselves and others. We all get the same amount of time in a day, but we each get to make our own choices about what we are going to do with that time. We should be careful to use it wisely, since there is a limited supply.

Every day presents us with the gift of energy. As we get older, we don’t have quiet as much of this as we used to. How many times have you seen a bunch of adults sitting around watching the kids run all over the place and heard someone exclaim: “If I had that much energy, I’d bottle it up and sell it!” If we use our energy wisely, it will reward us in incredible ways.

Everyday presents us with the gift of choice. We choose to stay in bed or get up. We choose what we are going to eat, if we are going to eat at all. We make choices about our choices! When we stop and think about it, what an amazing gift, the gift of choice is. Choose to live the most amazing life possible.

These three gifts are gifts that we way to often, tend to take for granted. I challenge you for whatever days you have left, to take time to think about, appreciate and utilize your daily gifts. Manage your time and get the most out of your moments. Use your energy wisely and protect it’s source. Get what you want out of this life, by choosing your activities carefully, so that you are not wasting the precious gift of time. Life is about more than minutes, it is about moments, so get the most out of everyone you’ve been gifted with… 🙏🏻

Blogroll, Discipleship, Enlightenment, God

Pay Attention Or You Might Miss Something!

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit…” -Ephesians 5:18

Would you agree this is a command?

I asked this question on Social Media, because I wanted to see if the responses were what I thought they might be and they did not disappoint. We folks that like to call ourselves good Christians are quick to jump on the first part of the verse: “And be not drunk with wine”, which I agree is a command and one that I follow.

We tend to miss that second part of the verse which is also a command: “Be filled with the Spirit!” Kinda crazy how many of us tend to miss the obvious?

There are all kinds of sins, but for our conversation today, I want to challenge you to think about sin in two categories: Sins of commission and sins of omission. Sins of comission is when we do something we are not supposed to do and sins of omission is when we fail to do something we are supposed to do.

Often, church folks like to focus on a certain list of commission sins, while neglecting some commission and a lot of omission sins, all of which can be doing some real damage to the spiritual body.

If we have the strength, power and resolve to obey the first command, then what about the second command? Is one command more important than the other? Does one matter less?

I would like to suggest that if we get the second command right to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then we are empowered to find success in all kinds of commands and victory in both the sins of commission and sins of omission.

The Holy Spirit is God! What this verse is saying is: Be filled with God! To be filled with God, we have to be empty ourself of self and this is perhaps why we have such a big battle. Our ego gets in the way and encourages to Edge God Out.

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? I don’t think it means that we are always on a spiritual high, completely perfect with no challenges or struggles. I think it means working to have my spiritual, mental and physical self yielded to my Creator, so that He might flow to and through me. God flowing to and through me empowers me to live the life of blessing I was created for.

So back to the original question: Would you agree this is a command???