"Teacher, which is the greatest Commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." THIS is the first and greatest Commandment."
..........
Now, I'm going to share something with you that you probably won't buy at all: MOST PEOPLE HAVE NOT EVEN BEGUN TO SETTLE THE VERY-PERSONAL ISSUE OF JUST WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES SHOULD REALLY BE. Among those who KNOW, only a very, very small percentage actually LIVE according to these priorities.
..........
So ........... what could possibly be Tommy's potential solution to this terrible problem with the mature sector of humanity, which he so avidly purposes?? In the rudimentary beginnings of choosing life priorities, us humans need to figure out exactly just what we're looking for in life. I say this because I have read again and again that the majority of adults growing to the age of 50 years old, during the decades of 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 never really end up in the profession that they originally wanted to or even educated themselves for. In other words, their life took the usual twists and turns for them and they just ENDED UP earning money in a field that happened to have openings in, when they happened to be available for the particular job. Does this make any sense? What I mean is, I ended up in a teaching and leadership role in textiles when I originally educated myself to be a high school teacher. I ended up teaching, but not in a school.
Where all this is going, is that us humans don't realize that it's so terribly, TERRIBLY easy to load ourselves down with all sorts of activities, which we really THINK that we need to do, that we never realize that a truly "balanced life" is one that is based on priorities, not dreams and expectations. Do you follow me here? In other words, if we haven't consulted God on how HE wants our life to go, how can we expect our life to somehow go even near the direction which WE planned it, according to OUR agenda? To me, it's like letting your 5 yr.old loose in a supermarket to pick out what food they're going to eat for the next month. You just KNOW they're going to pick out most junk food and candy, right? And THAT'S just what WE do with our lives, mostly. Without putting our here and now, AND our future into God's hands, we end relying on prevailing consequences and circumstances to lead us where we end up in our lives of careers, child-rearing and education, retirement plans, etc. Yes, we do things according to the world and not according to God. And by, "according to God", I mean that we need to ask God VERY OFTEN, "What do you want of my life today, this week, this month, the next ten years??"
And all of these items in the macrocosm of our life are spawned from the little items in the microcosm of our life. Yes, what we do day by day will inevitably drive what happens years and years down the road for us. Do you see this? In other words, all the little "NOWS" of our life end up, without our really noticing it, being the DECADES of our lives.
What this post is begging to be about is, that we maybe need to really look closely at the discretionary time we have on our hands every day. You know, the times when we aren't doing something that we think we really NEED to be doing, like eating, sleeping, work, driving to work, cleaning the house, buying the food .................. I'm talking about the "free" time, in between our basic survival tasks, when we COULD be getting into the really great habits of talking to God now and then, just because it feels good and that we really need to do it, anyway, even if we're really not convinced on that or not yet. Priority management. It's all about managing A LOT more than just our checkbook and the kids school and activity schedules, OK? When do we start putting JESUS in our daily lives?
STUDY, not read, the Bible daily. Get in the habit. I have picked particular times and places to do this. WATCH your internal dialogue. If you want, I'll describe more in detail what this is. Without getting very complicated, it's "me" talking to "me". What I'm saying is, we need to get in the habit of listening and talking to God as much as we do the other "priority items" of our life .............. especially the time we spend discussing things with ourselves.
And the obvious reason I have for trying to illustrate this very-human habit we ALL HAVE is this is; just ask yourself right now how often you catch yourself worrying or fretting, anticipating or stressing about things and people and events that YOU JUST CAN'T GET OUT OF YOUR MIND. We all do it, more often than we want to admit.
So try this, if you will. I love it. Whenever I catch myself hashing something over and over and over in my mind, like how much I hate that one of my sons insists on spending his life in prison ........... sometimes it just eats me up, OK? Well, what I do that is most effective is, I take the concept of Danny in prison and I picture taking this worry and putting it in a little box and then hold that box up in the air. With all the heart that I can muster, I lift up Danny to God and ask God, "Please, please, Lord, take this from me, OK? I just can't handle it. It's too much and it's driving me nuts! Please take, Lord, what I cannot handle anymore." And the power of this, when you REALLY start to practice it some, is that you can actually begin to gather yet-untapped prayer energy WITHIN the effort that you have put into creating that visualization of your "Danny" or whatever object of concern that is heavy on your mind, OK? Picture your object of worry fully, yes really work on this, and then physically hand it to God. This may sound really out in left field, but what else have you been trying in the last year or so to alleviate some of your worries? ANYTHING?
It's like giving yourself an enhanced praying effort. As you probably are aware of, the actual power of the prayer has little to do with the amount, but with the passion you put into it. The effort and heart-felt DESIRE to talk to God, to give something stressful to Him, is what counts here, OK? Please ponder on this powerful tool of incorporating GOD into your life AS THE ONE POWER, and NOT your focus on priorities and worries.
We MUST find a way to train ourselves into new habits, new ways of re-wiring ourselves from the old ways of listening to satan's lie and NOT God's Truth. You gotta remember that just because we tell ourselves something, doesn't make it so. THOUGHT IS NOT PURE.
..........
Dear God, we all need Your help so terribly much. We are trapped within our physical desires and our mental habits ......... habits not including YOU. We just can't remember to remember that our prayer and meditation habits are weak without Your Strength and Guidance. Please continue to keep the Holy Spirit in our path, for we are surely, surely lost with You. Thank You, Father.
..........
And when we worship, LET'S WORSHIP. Let us remember that ANY worship we offer to God is NEVER confined to the four walls of our church or Bible-study building or home. How we walk, how we confront our world, do our jobs, plan our lives, schedule our family and fun times ........... should be ALL ABOUT glorifying God our Father, and not what we THINK we have to do in our lives. HE'LL take care of that!! The family of God is not a building, how magnificent we might be able to build one. WE are Jesus' church, right where we stand or lie or sit, when we are acknowledging His Presence, and we really need to be reminded of this EVERY day, don't you think? I am sure you do! THIS is the object of my writing ministry ......... attempting to remind people of just what is available to them within the Mighty Salvation offered to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't it awesome?
And we all need to learn how to share. Besides just our belongings and money, this means our time, our prayers, our testimonies about our faith and Jesus and the Bible, and our energy. As the Apostle Paul so plainly put it in his letter to the Romans, chapter 10, vv. 14-15: "How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they hear without someone preaching (telling Jesus' story) to them?
And, my Friends in Jesus Christ, get your rest. Remember that there are TWO types of "being tired". There is the "tired" that feels good from doing a hard days work or home-task, both mentally and physically. There is a REALLY big difference between THAT kind of tired and the tired you get from worrying, stressing, mulling over and over and over in your mind the predicament you find you or a loved one in, OK? If something is bothering you, ask yourself if that worry is within your control or not. If it's not, stop thinking about it! If it IS within your control, then do something about it. Call for professional help, google it, make a plan, pray HARD about it ............... and give it to God instead of harboring things within.
.........
Heavenly Father, help us learn to rest IN YOU, and to be MUCH more willing to give our pressure to You, for YOU are the One in control, anyway!!
I just need to remember this, God. Thank You so very much for all the help You have ALWAYS given me. I am so very sorry for not keeping this in my mind. Amen.
.........
Ladies and Gentlemen, we all have to work and we need to thank God that we still can. If we are physically unable to work for a living, we need to be thankful that we have been kept mentally able to perform. We should feel proud to be able to do works for the Lord. Introduce Him to others. Help others learn about Him and what He has done for us over the centuries. Care for your loved ones, the poor and needy in however way God reveals these needs to you. It is OUR God-given responsibility to do these things. And manage your time with God. Trust Him to help you with your stress, your mess, your childrens' mess, and your problems and those of your family. You NEED to believe that THAT is what He does .................. because He does.
Take care, and my God continue to bless you. Tommy
..........
Now, I'm going to share something with you that you probably won't buy at all: MOST PEOPLE HAVE NOT EVEN BEGUN TO SETTLE THE VERY-PERSONAL ISSUE OF JUST WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES SHOULD REALLY BE. Among those who KNOW, only a very, very small percentage actually LIVE according to these priorities.
..........
So ........... what could possibly be Tommy's potential solution to this terrible problem with the mature sector of humanity, which he so avidly purposes?? In the rudimentary beginnings of choosing life priorities, us humans need to figure out exactly just what we're looking for in life. I say this because I have read again and again that the majority of adults growing to the age of 50 years old, during the decades of 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 never really end up in the profession that they originally wanted to or even educated themselves for. In other words, their life took the usual twists and turns for them and they just ENDED UP earning money in a field that happened to have openings in, when they happened to be available for the particular job. Does this make any sense? What I mean is, I ended up in a teaching and leadership role in textiles when I originally educated myself to be a high school teacher. I ended up teaching, but not in a school.
Where all this is going, is that us humans don't realize that it's so terribly, TERRIBLY easy to load ourselves down with all sorts of activities, which we really THINK that we need to do, that we never realize that a truly "balanced life" is one that is based on priorities, not dreams and expectations. Do you follow me here? In other words, if we haven't consulted God on how HE wants our life to go, how can we expect our life to somehow go even near the direction which WE planned it, according to OUR agenda? To me, it's like letting your 5 yr.old loose in a supermarket to pick out what food they're going to eat for the next month. You just KNOW they're going to pick out most junk food and candy, right? And THAT'S just what WE do with our lives, mostly. Without putting our here and now, AND our future into God's hands, we end relying on prevailing consequences and circumstances to lead us where we end up in our lives of careers, child-rearing and education, retirement plans, etc. Yes, we do things according to the world and not according to God. And by, "according to God", I mean that we need to ask God VERY OFTEN, "What do you want of my life today, this week, this month, the next ten years??"
And all of these items in the macrocosm of our life are spawned from the little items in the microcosm of our life. Yes, what we do day by day will inevitably drive what happens years and years down the road for us. Do you see this? In other words, all the little "NOWS" of our life end up, without our really noticing it, being the DECADES of our lives.
What this post is begging to be about is, that we maybe need to really look closely at the discretionary time we have on our hands every day. You know, the times when we aren't doing something that we think we really NEED to be doing, like eating, sleeping, work, driving to work, cleaning the house, buying the food .................. I'm talking about the "free" time, in between our basic survival tasks, when we COULD be getting into the really great habits of talking to God now and then, just because it feels good and that we really need to do it, anyway, even if we're really not convinced on that or not yet. Priority management. It's all about managing A LOT more than just our checkbook and the kids school and activity schedules, OK? When do we start putting JESUS in our daily lives?
STUDY, not read, the Bible daily. Get in the habit. I have picked particular times and places to do this. WATCH your internal dialogue. If you want, I'll describe more in detail what this is. Without getting very complicated, it's "me" talking to "me". What I'm saying is, we need to get in the habit of listening and talking to God as much as we do the other "priority items" of our life .............. especially the time we spend discussing things with ourselves.
And the obvious reason I have for trying to illustrate this very-human habit we ALL HAVE is this is; just ask yourself right now how often you catch yourself worrying or fretting, anticipating or stressing about things and people and events that YOU JUST CAN'T GET OUT OF YOUR MIND. We all do it, more often than we want to admit.
So try this, if you will. I love it. Whenever I catch myself hashing something over and over and over in my mind, like how much I hate that one of my sons insists on spending his life in prison ........... sometimes it just eats me up, OK? Well, what I do that is most effective is, I take the concept of Danny in prison and I picture taking this worry and putting it in a little box and then hold that box up in the air. With all the heart that I can muster, I lift up Danny to God and ask God, "Please, please, Lord, take this from me, OK? I just can't handle it. It's too much and it's driving me nuts! Please take, Lord, what I cannot handle anymore." And the power of this, when you REALLY start to practice it some, is that you can actually begin to gather yet-untapped prayer energy WITHIN the effort that you have put into creating that visualization of your "Danny" or whatever object of concern that is heavy on your mind, OK? Picture your object of worry fully, yes really work on this, and then physically hand it to God. This may sound really out in left field, but what else have you been trying in the last year or so to alleviate some of your worries? ANYTHING?
It's like giving yourself an enhanced praying effort. As you probably are aware of, the actual power of the prayer has little to do with the amount, but with the passion you put into it. The effort and heart-felt DESIRE to talk to God, to give something stressful to Him, is what counts here, OK? Please ponder on this powerful tool of incorporating GOD into your life AS THE ONE POWER, and NOT your focus on priorities and worries.
We MUST find a way to train ourselves into new habits, new ways of re-wiring ourselves from the old ways of listening to satan's lie and NOT God's Truth. You gotta remember that just because we tell ourselves something, doesn't make it so. THOUGHT IS NOT PURE.
..........
Dear God, we all need Your help so terribly much. We are trapped within our physical desires and our mental habits ......... habits not including YOU. We just can't remember to remember that our prayer and meditation habits are weak without Your Strength and Guidance. Please continue to keep the Holy Spirit in our path, for we are surely, surely lost with You. Thank You, Father.
..........
And when we worship, LET'S WORSHIP. Let us remember that ANY worship we offer to God is NEVER confined to the four walls of our church or Bible-study building or home. How we walk, how we confront our world, do our jobs, plan our lives, schedule our family and fun times ........... should be ALL ABOUT glorifying God our Father, and not what we THINK we have to do in our lives. HE'LL take care of that!! The family of God is not a building, how magnificent we might be able to build one. WE are Jesus' church, right where we stand or lie or sit, when we are acknowledging His Presence, and we really need to be reminded of this EVERY day, don't you think? I am sure you do! THIS is the object of my writing ministry ......... attempting to remind people of just what is available to them within the Mighty Salvation offered to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't it awesome?
And we all need to learn how to share. Besides just our belongings and money, this means our time, our prayers, our testimonies about our faith and Jesus and the Bible, and our energy. As the Apostle Paul so plainly put it in his letter to the Romans, chapter 10, vv. 14-15: "How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they hear without someone preaching (telling Jesus' story) to them?
And, my Friends in Jesus Christ, get your rest. Remember that there are TWO types of "being tired". There is the "tired" that feels good from doing a hard days work or home-task, both mentally and physically. There is a REALLY big difference between THAT kind of tired and the tired you get from worrying, stressing, mulling over and over and over in your mind the predicament you find you or a loved one in, OK? If something is bothering you, ask yourself if that worry is within your control or not. If it's not, stop thinking about it! If it IS within your control, then do something about it. Call for professional help, google it, make a plan, pray HARD about it ............... and give it to God instead of harboring things within.
.........
Heavenly Father, help us learn to rest IN YOU, and to be MUCH more willing to give our pressure to You, for YOU are the One in control, anyway!!
I just need to remember this, God. Thank You so very much for all the help You have ALWAYS given me. I am so very sorry for not keeping this in my mind. Amen..........
Ladies and Gentlemen, we all have to work and we need to thank God that we still can. If we are physically unable to work for a living, we need to be thankful that we have been kept mentally able to perform. We should feel proud to be able to do works for the Lord. Introduce Him to others. Help others learn about Him and what He has done for us over the centuries. Care for your loved ones, the poor and needy in however way God reveals these needs to you. It is OUR God-given responsibility to do these things. And manage your time with God. Trust Him to help you with your stress, your mess, your childrens' mess, and your problems and those of your family. You NEED to believe that THAT is what He does .................. because He does.
Take care, and my God continue to bless you. Tommy
