Life is a masterpiece theatre, so invite your audience carefully! Not everyone is holy or healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives. There are some people in your life that you need to love from a distance. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships/friendships/fellowships! So observe the relationships you allow in to your theatre.
Pay attention to:
Which ones lift and which ones lean?
Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?
Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and those on abackslide going downhill?
Which ones have positive resolutions for you and which ones use your problems against you?
Which ones use you for inspiration and which ones use you as an example in their conversations?
The more you seek growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in THE FRONT ROW, and who should be moved immediately to the balcony of your life. Sometimes, you might have to have them escorted outside.
You cannot change the people around you, but you can change the people you are around! (Amen!!) Ask God for wisdom and discernment, and choose wisely the people who sit in the front row of your life. It's your show, and you're the star; just remember HE wrote the original script and He's the original director!
You can't change circumstances and you can't change other people, but God can surely change you!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Too often we don't realize
What we have until it's gone.
Too often we wait too late to say
"I'm sorry - I was wrong."
Sometimes it seems we hurt the ones
We hold dearest to our hearts.
And we allow foolish things
To tear our lives apart.
Far too many times we let
Unimportant things into our minds.
And then it's usually too late
To see what made us blind.
So be sure that you let people know
How much they mean to you.
Take that time to say the words
Before your time is through.
Be sure that you appreciate
Everything you've got.
And be thankful for the little things in life...that mean a lot.
What we have until it's gone.
Too often we wait too late to say
"I'm sorry - I was wrong."
Sometimes it seems we hurt the ones
We hold dearest to our hearts.
And we allow foolish things
To tear our lives apart.
Far too many times we let
Unimportant things into our minds.
And then it's usually too late
To see what made us blind.
So be sure that you let people know
How much they mean to you.
Take that time to say the words
Before your time is through.
Be sure that you appreciate
Everything you've got.
And be thankful for the little things in life...that mean a lot.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The Bible and the Coal Basket
From: Esjay Bee
~~~~~~~~
The Bible and the Coal Basket
Author Unknown (Adapted)
An old man lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with
his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the
kitchen table reading his Bible.
His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in
every way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read
the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and
replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a
basket of water." The boy did as he was told, but all the water
leaked out before he got back to the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster
next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try
again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he
returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible
to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of
water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door
to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show
his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water
would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped
the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his
grandfather the basket was again empty.
Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the
basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal
basket and was now clean, inside and out.
"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not
understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be
changed, inside and out. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives."
~~~~~~~~
The Bible and the Coal Basket
Author Unknown (Adapted)
An old man lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with
his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the
kitchen table reading his Bible.
His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in
every way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read
the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and
replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a
basket of water." The boy did as he was told, but all the water
leaked out before he got back to the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster
next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try
again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he
returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible
to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of
water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door
to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show
his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water
would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped
the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his
grandfather the basket was again empty.
Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the
basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal
basket and was now clean, inside and out.
"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not
understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be
changed, inside and out. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives."
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