Choose Wisely, My Friend

Friday, March 30, 2012

Be careful what you share with others. Or if you share, at least be prepared that not everyone will support you. Parents and friends of addicts must be extremely careful who they share their struggles with. The damage to already fragile emotions can take a while to recover from if you do not. People talk and you need to be sure who you can trust first. When you share your dreams you must also be very careful. If the person you share with isn't supportive, it could cost you your dreams. Hard to imagine, but issues of faith enter the same warnings. If you are not strong enough to resist those telling you you are crazy, then it can derail you there as well. It is wise to think before you speak on both ends of things. When someone shares their hopes or struggles with you, encourage them or just say nothing at all. Life's hard knocks have taught me these lessons. And then taught them to me once again in a different color. Choose your words and your audience very carefully. Your success depends on it.

  

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3CATSLEP 3/30/2012 9:16PM

Wise words of wisdom! Thanks, Cindy! Report Inappropriate Comment

Integrity

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Can people depend on what you say? When you say you will be there for them can they count on you showing up when it is crunch time? What I am talking about here is integrity. We need to let our yes be yes and our no be no. If we are unsure of our ability to fulfil a comittment, we need to say so. And when we commit to something and find out that it is actually to our harm to continue, do we continue anyway because we gave our word? It use to be that a man's word was something you could bank on. Now manipulation and greed seem to take center stage instead. The world craves to see people of integrity. We need the stability that integrity brings. Our families need that firm foundation that will not slide in times of difficulty. Today I want my life to back the words I speak. If I claim to be a certain kind of person, I do not want my life to speak of something completely different. I refuse to be a hypocrite. I want people to look at me and say the picture I painted was the picture I intended to paint. People who inspire others are those who are true to themselves. They are people who give, not expecting anything in return, but reaping great rewards beyond themselves. They know the value of their influence, before they have that influence. They stand for what is right even before they know it is right sometimes. I will be who I say I am. I can't fool anyone anyways.

  

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PRESBESS 3/29/2012 12:42PM

Great blog! Report Inappropriate Comment

Listen!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Failure to listen is a a failure to communicate. When we come with our own agenda we will already have a preconceived notion of how things should go. We are less willing to hear input from others or listen to what they have to say. It is frustrating to try to carry on a conversation when you know the other person isn't even listening or interested. In fact, you really cannot carry on a one way conversation. You might as well jsut be talking to yourself. So, as a listener, let us put aside our own agenda and truly listen to what others have to say. Let us not try to manuipulate another to our way of thinking, but truly care what they have to say. We do not have to agree, but they deserve to be heard. And wihtout trying to figure out our response ahead of time, make sure we have truly understood what it is they meant to convey by asking questions. If we will come to a conversation with the desire to contribute and not just take away, we will find all of our relationships are stonger and healthier. This applies to God as well as man.

  

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3CATSLEP 3/28/2012 8:38AM

It was a rewarding experience by doing just that in our women's prayer group last night. I went with my own problems (grieving the loss of my mom) and we wrote our requests on cards and then exchanged them so another person was praying specifically for you. My heart went out to the person I was praying for and her requests. MANY tears were shed and many kleenex used, but what a freedom and renewal of hope with my sisters in Christ! Report Inappropriate Comment

To Be Successful

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

What is stopping you from success? We could all be more successful, more determined, more productive in all we do. There are things we do that keep us from being all we can be. They say that positive people are successful people. There are things that we do and say that keep us from achieving all we want to. I will venture to say that our thought life is at the center of it all. What we think will determine what we believe. What we believe is what we will talk about. What we talk about will set our course in life. People determine whether or not they like us, by what we say and do. This is all determined by what we think. Change your thoughts, change your life. A person's attitude is governed by their thoughts. Attitude is so very subtle sometimes and though we think we are hiding our true intents, but they leak out in our attitude, in how we carry ourselves and interact with others. We will get or lose a job because of this sometimes. We have all seen people who exude confidence and those who exude ego. The difference is in our thoughts. We can tear ourselves down by the thoughts we allow to dominate our minds. We give place to destructive self talk and we don't smile as much and our shoulders droop and we don't think we are worthy of the job we are more than capable of doing. We have all heard the story of the two dogs. One is a little thing like a Chihuahua with an attitude and the other something like a pit bull that is so gentle. The bigger more powerful dog will cower to the smaller, more confident dog because of the confidence displayed. It all comes down to what we believe we are capable of doing. But give that pit bull the opportunity to see what is capable of and the battle is no match. So be careful what thoughts you allow to take residence in your mind. Guard your thoughts diligently. Truly listen to the music you put on. Look at the books you read and the television that you allow yourself to watch. Are they truly harmless, mindless forms of entertainment? I think not. We must guard ourselves to become successful. Those who succeed, do so by choice. Those who fail do the same.

  

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YOYONOMORE1 3/27/2012 6:44PM

A good blog, makes you stop and think. Have a good evening. Hugs, Shirl Report Inappropriate Comment

Powerful Force

Monday, March 26, 2012

Trusting in God is not always easy. Sometimes it takes everything you've got to allow Him to do what He sees fit to do. The result, if we do not give up, will always astound us though. I have found He rarely does things like I think He should. God has proved Himself to me over and over and over again. There have been times in my life when He so gently told me what He expected of me. It went against everything I wanted to do at the time. I had control and did not want to give it up to anyone, not even Him. But in obedience I submitted to what He asked, gritting my teeth the whole time. Because I did, I am still married and my children are closer to their father than I ever hoped and dreamed would be possible and in a very short period of time. I have seen many miraculous things happen when I trusted the outcome to Him. There came a time when I had to lay it all upon the altar and trust in His wisdom. Now He has taken me a step further and asked me to trust Him to take care of them when there is no physical way to drop everything and run to the aid of my children. As a mother, it is my nature to protect and care for my children. To relinquish that is not an easy task. I know that He is more than able to take care of them, but something inside of me still wants to and almost needs to have a hand in it. It is strangely comforting to know He has complete control because I know that nothing surprises Him. This weekend He proved Himself one more time. After the fact, we have found out some of what happened, but many of the details are still hidden from us. Even still, in all of it we see God mightily at work. My child is safe, her belongings returned, and those who would harm her many miles away. To top it off, God has provided someone there to care for her and look after her who is one of His children. Someone who doesn't think it is their duty to do God's job wihout consulting Him first due to invested emotions. I hate it when people, including myself say, "All I can do is pray." We say it as if the situation is hopeless. Because it is all we can do, He is totally in control, and we exercise one of our greatest weapons against the work of our enemy, faith. Sometimes trusting Jesus is nothing more than shutting down those emotions. We still love. We still care. We still want what is best for them. We just don't allow the emotions to rule those decisions. You cannot go wrong trusting God. He is ever faithful to come through in style at the exact right moment. His decisions are always what is infinitely best. His love for us far greater than we can begin to understand. He is never wrong. After all, He was willing to sacrifice His son to get us back and did not lose Him in the end either. I am overwhelmed by God's goodness today. Because He has proved HImself over and over to me, it makes it so much easier to do it again. Trust, once earned, is a force that is powerful when our trust is in Him.

  

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3CATSLEP 3/26/2012 12:01PM

Hi Cindy, It is good to hear that God has placed someone near your daughter to look out for her. What a comfort for you! God is EVER faithful:) Love ya, Laura Report Inappropriate Comment

MI-ELLKAYBEE 3/26/2012 11:00AM

This touched my, heart, my soul, and my mind. It is so much what I needed to see during a very troubling, tumultuous, and stressful time in my life. May God continue to bless your success on this journey we all share. Report Inappropriate Comment