Happiness is a Choice

The first time I heard, "Happiness is a Choice," almost 20 years ago, it really riled me up. I was in the midst of rough time of my life and I was sure it was because of circumstances.
Now I am older and hopefully wiser and have learned that I cannot control circumstance, but I can choose my response to them.
I was reminded of this when I got this short email from my Mary Kay Director, Kathy Lee:

NO MATTER WHAT - CHOOSE HAPPY TODAY!
WHEN SOMEONE ASKS HOW YOU'RE DOING SAY,
"I'M HAPPY!" DO IT EVERY TIME & JUST SEE HOW HAPPY
YOU BECOME ...THEN HOW MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL
YOU WILL BE!!!! IT WORKS!
CHOOSE TO LOVE YOUR LIFE!
CHOOSE TO CREATE THE LIFE YOU LOVE!!!!!

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to
success."

If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
— Albert Schweitzer: Was a theologian, medical missionary, and philosopher

Please Remember Our Troops

Remember those serving and those who are not coming back.
Pray for the families that they have left behind.
Ask God to heal their broken hearts.

Merry Christmas!!

For as long as I am allowed to say, Merry Christmas, I will. For happy Holidays doesn't capture the love our Father had for us when He sent His only Son.
Merry Christmas!
Got this email. Don't know the author but I support most of it so I thought I would share it with you:
Letter from Jesus about Christmas --

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season.


How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up... It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary--especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you..

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :


I LOVE YOU,

JESUS

Ring This Christmas Bell by the Way You Live

THE BELL

I KNOW WHO I AM

I am God's child (John 1:12)

I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )

I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)

I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)

I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)

I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)

I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)

I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)

I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)

I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)

I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)

I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)

I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)

I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)

I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )

I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28 )

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )

I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)

I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)

I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)

I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)

I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)

I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)

I have been redeemed and forgiven ( Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)

I belong to God

Do you know

Who you are?

I was watching a Hallmark movie the other night and a remark caught my attention. The beauty of children is that they live in the present. They don't look back and they aren't worried about the future.
That reminded me of the Scripture, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matt 18:3
We have become converted but have not become as little children. A little child is totally dependent on his parents for food, home and safety. Are wee that dependent on our Heavenly Father or do we plow ahead to do it ourselves without His guidance?
Here's a testimony about seeking first His kingdom, then I have added the whole song uninterrupted. Consider whether you are seeking His kingdom or yours?
Enjoy.

Now consider the fullness of the Scripture as she sings all of the song.

Dare to Believe

My Director, Kathy Lee, called the other day. I could hear such excitement in her voice as she shared a Christmas party that she had just attended. Dreams were stirred in all that attended and that hope came from someone who had literally lost everything. She dared to dream again.
Do YOU dare? Do you dare to take back what has been stolen from you?
From Mary Kay Director Liliana Smith's signature line,
"Do you "Bee~lieve"?
How does the Bumble Bee fly?
It's body is too big and it's wings are too small.
God whispered in it's ear, "You can do it!" and it did.

I'm passing His whisper along...... "You can do it!"

1 John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

So many of us have lost our dreams along the way, but if you know Jesus and have a living relationship with the Father, then you know the power of believing.
The Polar Express tells the story of a young boy losing his hope in Santa Claus. Many of our dreams have been Santa Claus dreams. Not related to reality.
But the message of the power of believing is undeniable. When we know who we are in Christ Jesus, then fear has to go for perfect fear casts out fear. God's love is that perfect love and it is a free gift.
So I invite you to watch this Polar Express clip and remember the God-given dreams that you were given. Dare to believe for you can do it!

Old-Fashioned Christmas

When I first moved here, I compared Thomaston to Mayberry. While it isn't that simple, it is a safe place with lots of good people.
The first hometown parade I saw here was the Fourth of July. It was like being transported back to the 50s with decorated cars and floats without all the pyrotechnics or other blaring electronic devices like a Macy's or even a college parade.
It is real people sharing neighbor to neighbor. I felt so safe that I stood there and cried with joy. They aren't the least bit concerned with being politically correct. They are just real.
We arrived home in time Saturday night to watch the Thomaston hometown parade. It is like a blast from the past and it passes right in front of our home.
First there were the screaming sirens from decorated fire trucks and police cars. These were followed up with tractors with Christmas lights on them. There was a particularly old one that seemed to huff and puff like chitty-chitty bang-bang. There was a gleaming John Deere as well.
All had lights and drivers and passengers shouting, "Merry Christmas!"
There was a horse drawn carriage with lights on its wheels creating a pinwheel effect as it traveled down the street.
We had begun our outdoor Christmas lights and they were the only ones on the block. So the kids would shout, "I like your lights!"
Soon I began shouting, "Merry Christmas!" back at them. It's contagious!
Yet I could not help but wonder how much longer we would have that privilege. In many places Merry Christmas has been replaced with Happy Holidays. Where is Christ in that? I am expressing my heart. Merry Christmas.

What is love?

"Divine love tender and self-sacrificing and devoted, and glad to bear and forbare, and suffer, and eager to lavish its best gifts and all blessings upon the object of its love. Put together all the tenderest love you know .... the deepest 'love' you have ever felt, and the strongest that has ever been poured out upon you, and heap it all up ... and you will begin to perhaps have some faint glimpses of the love and grace of God." The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. Hannah Whitall Smith

Sometimes in our journey called life, we focus on the circumstances that we would not have chosen -the broken heart, the grief, the dashed hopes. We spend so much time looking back, that we lose sight of the fact that God's love is all encompassing and unconditional.
Jesus told us that unless we become as little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
It is my hope that the following clip will bring you back to the simplicity of God's love.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I have so much to be grateful for. I had one cardiologist tell me that I would never see 60. I am 64 and happy. Each day is a gift.
I am married to a man who loves me unconditionally.
Recently we had a wedding at our church and at the close, they played, "Dance with me, Lord." All married couples were invited to come dance with the newly married couple. As Ray held me in his arms, I was reminded of our first date and our first dance. What a long way we have traveled.
A friend, Marcia Fisher, took a picture of us dancing. I don't usually like pictures taken of me because I am overweight. (translation:not perfect) However, there was something endearing about this picture- belly and all. So I made some copies to send to family and a 8X10 for our family wall of pictures. When I framed the 8x10 and took it to the wall, I noticed the similarity of that picture to the one that was taken 30 years ago on our wedding day as he held me in his arms. There was that same look of love for one another, that same surrender into the safety of his arms.

This 30 years has not been without sadness, even grief, rebellion and brokenness, but what matters most is we have come full circle with God's help. The key is to keep dancing. No matter what your dreams are, don't give up.
Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
Love as though you've never been hurt,
Live every day as if it were your last.
In the attached video, Paul Wilbur opens in prayer and if you listen carefully you will hear prophetic declarations towards the end...darkness has passed...sickness has passed... Then you see a woman dance across the stage and in my mind's eye, I see a little girl dancing for her daddy and I know that is how I want to dance and live for my Father God - in abandon.

Where Do You Worship?

One of the most powerful thing about the gospel is that it liberates people from the concept that God dwells in any building. That will challenge some.
I can remember as a child how proud I was of our church. I thought the church was the building I went to. I had no real understanding that the church was the people.
In Acts 7 Stephen reminded the Jews of the journey of the tabernacle and how it was full of pagan idols that did please God. He reminds them of Solomon's temple.
Then he challenges them by saying, "Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven [is] my throne, and earth [is] my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what [is] the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?" Acts 7:49-50
Because he dared bring truth about worship, he was stoned to death.
Our Father wants to meet with me not in just the concrete block building I call church, but daily as I take time to thank Him for being my Father.
I will never win a perfect attendance pin or be recognized by men in this place, but my heart will be warmed by His presence.
It is leaving the business of our lives and taking time to thank Him and praise Him.
[Even] the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:26-27
Imagine carrying the hope of glory within you and literally spilling it on others as you make it through your day. Here a splash, there a splash. What a blessing to bring His hope to others. But we have to take time for that infilling, because sometimes the cares of this world cause us to "leak."
I love to go to church, There is time for fellowship before the service that serves to connect me to the body. Then there is corporate worship and then whatever and wherever the Holy Spirit leads. However, what I receive will be in direct proportion to what I prepared my heart for before I came.
The building isn't a filling station. The filling station is anywhere I pause to meet God. Frequent fill-ups are encouraged.

Perception

PERCEPTION (author unknown)

. . .Something To Think About. . .

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.


4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made..

How many other things are we missing?
*****************************************
My question is how many things has God set before us? Are we so busy doing "good" things that we totally miss the "God" things?
How many thing are we doing because we think we "ought" to do them? Yesterday I unplugged the phone, turned of my cell and watched three chick flicks on the Hallmark channel. I had laid out some jewelry findings to create some more jewelry when I thought, "No. I just need to chill. I don't need to DO anything." I put everything back up.
For SIX hours I literally struggled with being still and relaxing. I was never truly successful as I cooked dinner and folded clothes during the movies.
Why is it so hard to be still? To do nothing without feeling guilty? How many things are we missing because we are rushing through our "to do" list?
Why is it so hard to "be still and know He is God?"
Do we fear not being accepted unless we are doing? Do we get our identity from our activity? Who taught us that?
I think one of the reasons it is so hard to receive the love of the Father is because we won't be still long enough.

What Do You Deserve?

A couple of weeks ago while watching a Mary Kay training video, I heard the term deserve level. Apparently the term has been out there some time, but I had never heard of this self-imposed glass ceiling. It certainly helped explain some of the restrictions and boundaries I had put on myself.
I really didn't think I deserved any more than I had in life. Oh, there would be bursts of belief, but like a boomerang, I would return to my comfortable corner.
So I began to explore (and I am still exploring) how this all came about so I can move the boundaries.
We all have a deserve level. It is ingrained in our belief system. But what is the source of those beliefs? Is it a godly source or have have a believed lies spoken over me whether in ignorance or malice?
Subconsciously, we all have a a limit on what we believe we deserve. It is a reflection of the way we see ourselves. This is our "deserve level." We find it in the work place, our home life, on the golf course, we pretty much get what we expect to get based on what we think we deserve. This is insidious, because we don't wake up in the morning and consciously say, "Today I only deserve to be able to pay half of my bills. Or I only deserve to be able to third in the sales contest."
But are we self-sabotaging to arrive at the level we deserve?
Our life experiences are all governed in quantity and quality by our own personal deserve level. When we don’t get what we deserve, we find a way to get more. When we exceed our deserve level, we find a way to lose what we perceive to be more than necessary. We rise and fall to the level we feel we deserve.
As children, we think the world revolves around us. Then through abuse or abandonment, the paradigm shifts. Our sense of security, worth, and love is threatened, we adapt to that condition. We drawn the conclusion that life just happens. We see ourselves as receiving what we deserve. After all, as children we have nothing with which to measure or compare. We emotionally accept as much or as little as we are given. We believe what our parents and others in authority tell us about ourselves. As we mature, these experiences become our internal regulators.
Some people have unreasonably high deserve levels. They may be spoiled brats, but sometimes it comes out of victimization, too. Often these are the "takers". They believe they are entitled to have anything and everything regardless of the expense to themselves or others, because the world owes them.
At the other end, are those of us, who have allowed artificially low caps to be placed on our deserve levels. We unnecessarily limit our participation in life’s abundance.
I had a friend once who bought a house beneath her ability to pay just in case something happened in the future. She always wanted to be able to afford her house. She lived in an unsafe neighborhood in a house chocked full of family heirlooms out of fear of tomorrow.
This deserve level defines our commitment level as well. It colors our attitudes and acquisitions, as well as our position and possession. What if you really knew what it was to be a child of God? You would find that He doesn't give us what we deserve, but in His mercy, He gives us all He has. Changing your deserve level by knowing your identity in Him can change your life.

Choosing vs. Trying

I am beginning to see than many times when I say I am trying, it is a lame excuse for not giving it my all. When we choose to do something as opposed to try to do something, then we will have to make decisions at many levels. Choosing to read the Bible will result in turning off the TV. I can try to read my Bible but not find the time because of the choices I make.
In Hebrew try means to test. However, if trying was transliterated to test, I would not get a good grade at all. Try gives room for gray coming out of default.
Choose is black and white. Where we fall short is gray and there is mercy.
So today are we going to try to be obedient to what God has called us to or are we going to choose to be willing and obedient?
God is moving some pieces around in my life and I swing from fear to faith. Am trying to LABOR to ENTER into HIS REST. It is almost an oxymoron. I first thought the dichotomy was labor and rest. Today the LORD showed me it was labor to enter. Once I enter, the rest will be there. The labor is simply making a choice as opposed to trying. Labor means to make haste, do it diligently. It isn't a casual decision.
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Hebrews 4:9-11
I was trying in my own strength.
This is my journey.

Forgive Me

I think it is very important to speak out the things in our heart.
Sometimes because we don't "see and touch" God, we mutter prayers in our heads, but our heart needs to hear these prayers to help shift from regret to hope.
What do you need to ask God to forgive you for today?
Or is it possible you need to forgive God for the time when you thought He failed you?

Worthy of Love?

I found this "accidentally" while looking for something else. There is not much more I could add to this.

His Strength Is Perfect

Last week I was blessed to have my Mary Kay Director, Kathy Lee, spend a week with me. She spent a week coaching me and encouraging me. We almost hit a $1,000 in sales that week and gained two very good recruits. Then as soon as she came, she was gone.

I was flooded with doubt and unbelief. Can I do this without her? That was not God speaking to me for He had already enabled me to lead the unit in sales my first year and I came in second my second year.

So what was the real problem? The self-conflict comes from loving a job I have at Be In Health where I have an opportunity to speak into people's lives and balancing it with a 10 hour a week job with Mary Kay where I speak into people's lives that I would never see in church. Last week I prayed for ear problems, ulcers and more as they came for a facial. Which is better? Can I have both?

I recognize that some of the conflict comes from having been so sick for several months. Seems that when you are worn out physically, your spiritual strength is apt to wane as well. But it doesn't have to for when we are weak, He promises that He is strength is strong. Now that I am healing, I am better able to see places where I was relying on my strength and not His. For this I repent for my best strength is as a wet noodle compare to His.
As I draw near to Him and take the time to be still and listen to Him, He will give me direction.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect.

Pursuing God

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 29:11-13

When we find God in the little things, then we need to tuck ourselves up under His wings like a baby chick does with a mother hen. Our Father loves us and we need to hear His heartbeat for our lives.
Most of my life, when things got too intense, I ran to avoid the pain. I hated confrontation. Soon I found I had gone full circle and this unresolved issue was facing me once again.
It isn't running away that works, it is drawing closer.

God's Original Masterpiece

since I have been working at home, there have many more opportunities to work on that "stuff" that keeps me form being the Diane that God saw before the foundations of the world. He knit me together in my mother's womb. He fashioned me.
Now I am trying to remove the baggage that I picked up in my journey. Baggage from words spoken against me that I took in as reality. They came from the accuser.
Now I must stay in the Word so I can rightly discern good. God's good is so much richer than man's version of good.
I am giving God irrevocable permission to chisel away anything that was not part of His original masterpiece. Yes, sometimes it hurts. But in the end, it will "yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

Pushing Against the Rock

Pushing Against the Rock
~Author Unknown

There was a man who was asleep one night in his cabin when suddenly his room was filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all of his might.

The man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture placing thoughts into the man's mind sauch as: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it!" Thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. "Why kill myself over this?", he thought. "I'll justput in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough." And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in Your service, putting all of my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all of this time, I have not even budged that rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

To this the Lord responded compassionsately, "My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it.

Your task was to push. And now you come to me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are calloused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done.

I, my friend, will now move the rock!"

Holy Is the Lord