Psalm 103:5 says, “Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” This verse is a reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness to his people. He forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, and crowns us with love and compassion. He also satisfies our desires with good things to renew our youth, like the eagles. The image of the eagle is a powerful one. Eagles are strong, majestic birds that can fly high and see for long distances. They are also known for their ability to renew their feathers, which allows them to stay strong and healthy. In the same way, God can renew our youth and give us new strength and vitality. He can satisfy our desires with good things, both material and spiritual. He can provide us hope, joy, and peace, even amid difficult times. We can remember that God is our strength when we feel weak and tired. He is the one who satisfies our desires with good things. He is the one who renews our youth like the Eagles. Here are some ways to apply Psalm 103:5 to your life:
When you are feeling down, remember that God has forgiven your sins and healed your diseases. He has redeemed your life from the pit and crowned you with love and compassion.
When you feel tired and worn out, remember that God can satisfy your desires with good things. He can give you strength, hope, and joy.
When you feel old and frail, remember that God can renew your youth like the eagles. He can give you new strength and vitality.
Pray this verse over yourself today and ask God to fill you with goodness and faithfulness. He will renew your youth and give you new strength to face your challenges. The story of how an eagle renews its life after 40 is a metaphor for the human journey of transformation and renewal. When an eagle reaches the age of 40, its talons become so long and inflexible that they can no longer grasp prey. Its beak becomes bent, and its feathers become old and heavy. The eagle is no longer able to hunt or fly effectively. At this point, the eagle has two choices: it can die or undergo a painful process of renewal. The renewal process requires the eagle to fly to a high mountaintop and sit on a cliff. There, the eagle will pluck out its talons and beak. This is an excruciating process, but the eagle must be reborn. After the eagle has plucked out its talons and beak, it will wait for new ones to grow. This process takes about five months. During this time, the eagle is unable to hunt or fly. It is vulnerable to predators and must rely on its mate for food. The eagle is ready to fly again after the new talons and beaks have grown back. It is now more robust and more agile than ever before. The eagle has renewed its life, and it can now live for another 30 years. The story of the eagle is a reminder that we can all choose to renew our lives, no matter how old we are. We may need to abandon old habits and beliefs that no longer serve us. We may need to face our fears and challenges head-on. But if we are willing to do the work, we can emerge more robust and beautiful from the renewal process than ever before. Here are some lessons we can learn from the story of the eagle:
Our age or our circumstances do not define us. We can choose to renew our lives at any time.
Change can be painful, but it is necessary for growth.
We are stronger than we think. We can overcome any challenge if we are willing to put in the work.
Renewal is a process, not an event. It takes time and effort to transform fully.
The rewards of renewal are great. We can live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives if we let go of the past and embrace the future.
Renew your life NOW. Donât wait to begin where you are!
âThey always say time changes things, but you have to change them yourself.â –Andy Warhol
Before you begin this book, I am going to ask you to do one thing. Do this; it will be liberating!
Accept your life as it is now. No matter your lot in life, where you are, or your social situation. Simply accept your life. Let go of everything and accept. Let go of mental things, let go of emotional pain, everything, let go of it.
Do this only for yourself. Donât worry about others; this is youâabsolute acceptance of your entire being. You do not have to prove a damn thing to anyone; be within yourself.
By doing this, you can start from a clean slate. Your life is a do-over. Accept who you are, where you are. Now everything can be fresh. Begin here. Acceptance!
âI accept who I am. Today is day one of my NEW life.â
Letâs talk about the next step from Acceptance.
âDesireâ
Do you desire to change?
How bad do you want to change?
Enough to follow through, or will this go silently adrift into the abyss? (Being honest with yourself)
You, however, must desire and want change. People say all the time, âyes, I want that.â But, unfortunately, very few see change through to fruition.
You must be willing to change your environment, habits, and outlook to achieve lasting change.
Be sick and tired of being sick and tired!
Learn to set yourself up for successâactivity vs. Productivity.
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” –Edmund Burke
Never think a small step or time is an issue. Forward momentum!
If you understand how something will impact your life in a meaningful way, you will change. Unfortunately, it is NOT motivation; you lack its knowledge.
Learn WHY and the rest will fall in place! When you learn enough to understand the outcome of what you are trying to change. It is fun at that point. You feel sucked in by the force of knowing something unique is about to happen.
Itâs not possible to remain the same person every day until you die. Otherwise, you would still need diapers. We grow; we learn. It is the way of things.
Remember, the world may be in turmoil; you do not have to be. Life can control you, or you can manage your own life. Things will happen out of our control; however, if it is not in your lane, stay in your lane! Keep the faith that change is occurring and forthcoming.
Be open to change no matter how impossible your perception of life is right now. What happens to you is what you allow mentally (of course not physically). You have more strength than you know.
Beat down emotionally? The only way from here is up. Never fall into the mindset that life is over, no hope. Nothing is over until itâs over. Want to be done with all the bullshit? You can and will find a way. I did!
With the change, you may find that friends may fall out. If people in your life fade away, let them go. Sometimes change occurs. Destinies change. Be open.
Somedays, you will feel alone. Somedays, you will say Fâ it, I am not strong enough. I, too, had those days, dark days to the point of resigning myself to ending my life. At that moment, shit just was not worth it anymore.
I am aimlessly walking through life with nothing to hope for, nothing to live for, and broken. I have shared this story a few times in my podcast and blog.
Four years or so ago. A failed marriage, a divorce that at the time I did not want. At the time, I loved my wife very much. To add insult to injury, I paid for a divorce that I did not wish to occur.
More to the point, once the pain subsided, I realized our lives had different destinations. Hurt, but it made sense.
With not much left in my life, I moved to West Texas at the request of my family. So off to West Texas Glitzy, my dog and I go.
Fast forward a bit. I began to go to Church in Odessa, Texas. Two amazing things happened to me.
First, I was searching for anything that would bring me peace.
While sitting in church one Sunday morning, the pastor was doing an alter call. Where folks in the congregation give themselves to Jesus Christ or reaffirm their decision, keep in mind for the next part that I, other than being polite and saying good morning, not a soul in the church, knew who I was.
On this Sunday, I raised my hand. After the prayer and everyone sat down. The pastor was walking across the stage and stopped. Turning back towards the crowd, he began to say, âSir, sirâ finally realizing he was calling out to me, I was surprised. The pastor said to me, âGod had put in his heart that whatever creative things I was working on donât stop.â
Not knowing me from Adam, the fact that I had been writing a great deal, my goal for that year was to publish my first book. How could he ever know that? Ponder that.
That year not only did I publish my first book, but I also actually published seven.
Second, a miracle that happened for me follows:
I have attended the church for several months now. But, honestly, at this moment, I will freely admit not much was changing, and I had fallen back into a deep depression.
An event at the church had come up a barbeque. As I sat alone at a table during the event, finding myself at the lowest point in my life. Nothing seemed like it would ever work out. At this moment, I made the decision it was simply time to go. End Life and end the pain. The scary part is a false sense of peace came over me.
At this moment, I hear some say, âBob is that you?â As I turned, I saw Paulette, the Pastors wife standing behind me and calling out to me as I had made this horrible decision.
Paulette asked me what I was doing sitting alone. We exchanged pleasantries, and she invited me to sit at her table and join her friends. I hesitantly accepted.
As the evening progressed, I began to realize people were genuinely friendly. I was enjoying myself entirely for the first time in what seemed to be years.
On my way home, I felt at peace.
My point to these two events is this. No way could Pastor Don have had any idea I was a writer. Likewise, Paulette could not have known that seconds before she said something to me, I had planned that my life was not worth living.
In my mind, God spoke through them to me not one time but two. So my belief tells me that God said that my life did have meaning in my darkest moment.
Whether you believe or have faith, miracles do happen. Change can happen. We donât always understand why life is what it is, but hope does exist, even when you find yourself ready to give up.
My prayer for you is never to think that life cannot be changed for the better. I am living proof that you can. Even though I did not want a divorce, I am excited about my life and the days ahead.
Writing brings me joy and peace. When writing, I honestly feel that is what I am supposed to be doing.
âChange is hard until itâs not.ââRobert Bruton
First, you must begin right now to be open to change. To say to yourself, âwhat if this guy is right?â I can change my entire life no matter age, gender, education, or station in life. You can change. Simply put, you must want change.
This statement will sting a little bit because it is brutally honest. Get these two statements out of your head:
âI am old school.â I am not going to change. (Hard truth answer. Youâre too lazy to change.) Ouch, but damn, stop saying that.
âI am not a morning person.â (Get your ass out of bed. A life filled with happiness, and you would rather sleep lazy ass.) Ouch again, but NO, you can get up and meet the day with everything that is you; come on now.
âI hated every minute of training, but I said, âDonât quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.â –Muhammad Ali
Limiting beliefs are no longer a part of our mantra. (PSA: sometimes we must swallow the truth that chokes us).
If you are reading this book, let us assume your answer is in the affirmative.
My mother has a great saying to my sister and me. âYou did not wreck yourself overnight; you cannot fix yourself overnight.â Patience is the call of the day. As we begin this book, you will be changing many aspects of your psyche and old paradigms to wash away.
In my podcast this morning, I related a story that I would like to tell you now.
When you look at herds of animals, one animal always stands out from the entire herd or pack. In this example, I will use horses because I love horses. As horses move about, they, like all herd animals, have one leader. Imagine yourself in the herd, running across the open plains doing your thing. Today, however, you begin to run faster and stronger than you ever have. You are overtaking the lead horse.
This newfound strength came upon you. Nothing special about you thus far, but today you found a whole new speed in your run. Today youâre leading the herd.
We all have something profound within us that, at any moment, can come out. When you learn to quiet your mind, keep still in the face of adversity. You will find this new speed. Keep reading because this book is filled with more than you can imagine. Life is about to change.
Most of us buy into the âwe are where we areâ syndrome. You may be today, but you damn sure can be in a new place tomorrow. Get that straight out of your head; you will thank me later.
We all must learn not to listen to societyâs norms. Even a well-meaning family can stifle dreams. Only two people know whether you can or cannot do a thingâyou and God. Everything else is conversation.
Learning to look at life taking these things out of the equation:
Money is not a problem (how you say? We can all figure out how to start on a shoestring or fund a project. It just takes knowledge).
Knowledge is not a problem (how you say? Gaining knowledge about anything is an online or library search away).
Time is not the problem
(How you say? Learn the difference between Activity vs. Productivity, and you will master your life). My pee tests. âDid you pee today?â Yes, being the most common answer. You told me you did not have time to do anything. Yet you had time to pee. Mull that over a while, it will come to you! (Spoiler alert you have to)
These three items have been staples in how to set goals for years.
ONE BIG THING MISSING
FEAR
WHAT IF FEAR WAS NO LONGER A PROBLEM?
HEALTHY FEAR YES | DEBILITATING FEAR NO
As we journey through this book, you will learn how to master your fear. Learn to condition yourself to remain calm under extreme pressure when necessary and stay calm through life.
Arguably the most debilitating of all emotions is fear. So stop you in your tracks, and these phrases have that ability for now:
Lose my job. Voluntarily or not.
Ruin my credit.
I have bills.
I have children and a mortgage.
I donât know-how.
You can damn sure talk yourself out of anythingâfear talking. But, in later chapters, we will learn how to overcome fear with knowledge.
Baby steps are okay. Forward momentum is always a good thing, big or small. Just keep the inertia moving forward.
âThe person who says it cannot be done. Should stop interrupting the person doing it.ââChinese Proverb
You are talking yourself out of doing something or allowing someone to talk you out of something you are enthusiastic about stops now. Learn to believe in your ability. Not, othersâ interpretation of your abilities. Significant difference.
How many success stories have you heard from early on in a companyâs Genesis that major players walked by and said, âoh, thatâs not ever going to work.â MicrosoftÂŽ, AppleÂŽ, CompaqÂŽ, FedExÂŽ, and others all laughed at early on. Belief, perseverance, and the wisdom to learn from failures and build back stronger. Your life is just like that.
Change may not come at the first door; you may need to open a few before walking through the right one.
When you believe strongly enough (not wishful thinking) that you ache to do something, it calls to you. Then you figure the way. Knowledge is the key. Then, you will achieve your wildest dreams.
Knowledge is one of the key ingredients you will utilize to have people ask you in the beginning, âWhy are you doing that?â to then ask you, âHow did you do that?â Knowledge to achieve, solve, and overcome. The real question will be, are you willing to learn?
Learning is just like a bicycle. When you begin to learn to ride a bike, you suck. Skinned knees, maybe a broken bone, but you continue to LEARN. As you progress, you take one hill, then the next until youâre a kamikaze finding the steepest hill, the most significant jump, not caring if you bust your ass. Why? You have learned and mastered the bike.
Life is the same way. You have learned and mastered life. You donât care if you bust your ass. Why because you know HOW to get back up. You learn to love the journey, good and bad, instead of focusing on a small failure only to peter out.
It is liberating!
âIf you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.â –Wayne Dyer
What I hear in that statement is change brings about knowledge. The bicycle metaphor, in the beginning, could be construed as menacing because you bust your ass all the time. However, as you gain knowledge to ride the bike proficiently, the bike looks like tremendous fun.
Life can be the same!
When I was a kid, I skied in Ruidoso, New Mexico. First, the ski area was named Sierra Blanca; after the mountain peak, it later changed to Ski Apache.
In my youth, the ski run I most wanted to conquer was a run called Capitan. Very steep with huge moguls. To a young boy, very foreboding. The first attempt going down the hill took what seemed to be hours traversing the mountain from one side to the other.
Capitan became one of my favorite runs to ski, and I eventually skied many races on that run with time. I went from traversing side to side to being able to downhill the slope. No turns straight, tuck, and down we go.
After a time of overcoming fear, I was able to do anything I wanted on the hill. For me, it was one of the biggest thrills of achievement in my life. Many a fun race day I had was spent on that hill.
With time and practice, you too can overcome your fear of skiing your Capitan.
To solve lifeâs puzzle, you need knowledge and lots of it. Conquering fear is nothing more than the knowledge to decipher what you fear. Humans are not fearful of anything they understand. Guys who handle venomous snakes (I agree crazy as hell) do so because they know how to do so. Therefore, they can take and control dangerous situations. Bomb guys the same way. Ability overcomes difficult fear and lets healthy respect reside.
Become a student of life.
For example:
Are you the go-to person in your field for a professional opinion if a national broadcast calls you? No, why?
The most challenging problem in your life, do you curl up in a ball or hit them head-on? If you knew how to solve the problem, would you still curl up in a ball? NO!
Want to change the world? How? Knowledge to solve the problems of the world might be an excellent place to start.
Want a better job? Learn how to do something better, more proficiently, and you will land a better-paying job. Solving someoneâs problems and pay is not a problem. Think about that for a minute.
About to lose a relationship. Learn what it takes to have a safe, happy, loving, healthy relationship, and you will not. Or better still, if you lose, you wonât close it on yourself the next time that door opens.
Learn to solve problems, get out in front of an issue solve it. Money will not be your problem.
Remember you must start somewhere. Never think, âoh, if I get the job now, I can solve problems later.â No, get the knowledge and work your way towards your result. You cannot skip forward and expect lasting change. Do the work!
Improvise, Adapt, and overcome!
You do not need a formal education to fix your lifeâknowledge is accessible to all. It would help if you simply found it. Not hard at all.
When you learn that life is not holding you back, you are. Itâs not what side of the tracks you were born on, education or no education. So many men and women throughout history have come from horrible situations to achieve beautiful things.
Society would like to have you believe that itâs only a select few who can achieve. Stop buying a pile of horse manure.
When you say, I donât have the education to do that. Most successful entrepreneurs came from nothing, had nothing, and indeed no formal education.
You can gain knowledge through so many avenues:
Library, read as many books as you can, read daily. One hour per day X 365 days is 365 hours of study!
Online Searches (research) any subject you need help with learning.
Seminars (in person and online)
Training courses (in-person and online)
Volunteering
Find a Mentor
SBA / Score (internet search if you donât know what this is)
Open yourself to new ideas and new ways of learning!
Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician that had virtually no formal math training. Yet, in his day, he solved math problems that others said were unsolvable. Moreover, his work was so advanced other scholars of the day dismissed his work.
He mainly worked in isolation. But, from this one book, A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics, G. S. Carrâ this young man was able to extrapolate some of the most thought-provoking work in mathematical history. One book changed his life forever!
Sadly, this young man died at age 32.
Think about this for a minute. Your life could change forever reading one bookâextraordinary to think.
Considered today, Srinivasa Ramanujan is a legend within the mathematic community and with scholars.
Another person of notable success you will certainly recognize is Demi Moore. âI was born in Roswell, New Mexico and raised by alcoholic parents in a trailer park.â (Roswell is my birthplace)
From that beginning, she did not let her environment, or lack thereof, deter her from becoming an excellent Hollywood star.
Change only occurs when you change! Do you want to change?
Asperger Syndrome:
A developmental disorder was affecting the ability to socialize and communicate effectively.
Asperger syndrome is a condition on the autism spectrum, with generally higher functioning.
Consider Elon Musk, who suffers from Aspergerâs. This amazing man has not let what some would say a disability keep him from reaching his vision. Instead, he does what he loves, someone that pursues space travel; letâs say it is not a regular Joe job.
A disorder that makes social situations awkward, I think we can all agree Elon Musk has articulated his vision in a meaningful way.
Excuses for our lives stop at this moment!
âI learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my side, be an advocate for myself and others like me.â –Maya Angelou
You must buckle down and work. Learn how to apply knowledge to a situation and see how quickly your life changes. When you can step in front of a problem with the actual ability to solve it, the world is yours.
You have attained knowledge. Think about something that you might be afraid to try. Dancing, for example. When you begin to learn a dance, you probably look dorky until you master the steps. You donât simply walk on the dance floor and waltz the first time beautifully. However, with practice, you will look graceful on the floor.
At that point, fear is out the window!
What if I fail? You fail if you donât try!
What if I look stupid? Who Cares???
Everyone begins at ground zero. We all had to start somewhere with only the knowledge that we possessed at that moment. As time moved, so did the skill level; this, in turn, brings down the level of fear to a manageable level.
From an article I wrote:
What does it take to make lasting and real change?
Simply writing out goals with no concrete plan of action is useless. Lord, I want a million dollars in my bank account, do nothing, and by some miracle, it will happen because you wished it!
Sorry to burst bubble; life change takes real work. Wishing for something to happen is flat going to get you ZERO.
Want to learn the secret sauce?
Organize your life to win. From the time you get up to the time you go to bed, be about good works. Yes, you can have time for messing about. The basic plan daily is getting our job done, then playingâa balance of productivity and activity. Learn to master the difference between the two, and you will achieve your heartâs desire.
Life cannot be all about you. Make some room for making a difference every day. It can be as simple as sharing a smile, a hearty good morning. Perhaps, you visited a total stranger in the hospital or nursing home to spread good cheer. Just be a blessing to anyone today. First and foremost, to lead a life of abundance.
Everything else will fall in place when you set out to change your life to achieve happiness, peace, and joy in your heart. Having peace in your head will give you access to the far reaches of your brain. Learning to declutter our minds will open creative thoughts.
How do you say do I slow down my brain long enough to have a positive thought?
Meditation
Learning through prayer and meditation to slow down decompress our brain to begin receiving new thoughts and ideas. Problem solved with a clear head.
(We have a chapter on Mediation)
As I finished this book, I returned to this spot to share a different story that I heard in a video. It struck me as thought-provoking.
I watched a video by a helicopter pilot who flies for a major TV show in Alaska. He shared a story about something he asked a Coast Guard Helicopter rescue pilot. The TV pilot asked: âhow do you know when a flight is a no-go or go due to weather conditions?â To which the Coast Guard Pilot replied: âWhen we get called out on a rescue, the weather is normally torrential due to the nature of the call, may-day distress. The weather is not the factor if we can open the hanger door in the storm we go.â Meaning if they can manage to open the hanger door in a torrential storm, they fly no matter the conditions.
My point to this is you have a decision to make. Your life is a mayday call. Are you going to let a storm stop you? Or will you move the hanger door the hell out of the way so you can do your job? People can find the will to overcome anything. Each of us can fly no matter what the weather.
You can give up or you can breakthrough! Choose wisely.
The difference between winning, change, or a continuation of the same. Don’t give up! Faith in all that you do will see you through the tough times when you want to give up. Giving up comes in the form of emotional pain.
I call it kicking your own ass!
We are conditioned from a very young age to avoid pain. Our brain will have us run from pain. Here is an example of overcoming emotional torture.
Marathon runners hit what they call the wall. This happens late in the race when your body is so fatigued your brain begins to say you need to stop NOW. Runners say they feel as though they are hurting their bodies beyond measure.
Yet studies have found this is all in mind. That if you can break through this process, on the other side, you complete the Marathon. Bodies are not injured, it’s simply fatigued that your brain registers as pain.
Humans can see themselves through tremendous emotional pain. You genuinely do not know what you can take until you try. More often than not, giving up too soon, when achievement is just one more step away. Success can take one action further than most are willing to do.
Yes, you will have to work through emotional pain to achieve real success in anything you set out to make. Moreover, this is worth your investment, time, and energy. Stop losing and learn to win. Achieve more than you dreamt of!
How you say?
Learning to recondition yourself, your auto-response to emotional pain. This takes time and your fullest attention.
Look at the state of your home or office. Is it cluttered? Is it clean? Clean is good, cluttered is bad will talk about that. The state of your mind runs congruent with the state of your account. East start, get your home and office in order!
Organize your life to win. In my book, we talk about activity vs. productivity. When you fully understand the difference, this is the secret sauce. For example, the action is social media, gabbing, etc. Productivity: net a result. Work on a project to completion in a set time.
Take care of Body, Mind & Soul. Eat healthy, walk, get in the sunshine. Take time to unplug from social media (most significant waste of your time) phones, get outside and leave the phone at home or in the car. Unplug!
Meditate and pray. During your meditation, see yourself as you would love to live. It’s not about fancy cars, mansions, it’s about being present in a moment. Success will come if you can actually be present in a moment. Giving full attention to the tasks at hand. See yourself and pray to God for wisdom. Not possessions.
Learn. Simple enough. Make time every day to broaden your mind. Watch videos, take a master class, attend night school. Do something that brings a better you to this world.
Five quick things to get started.
None of this will make any difference if you don’t follow-through. This means set out reminders for 1 Year. Exercise, make time for an entire year to exercise. One hour per day for 365 days = 365 hours of training, education, family. It’s time to organize to win in life.
For the “I don’t have time, crowd.” Let me piss you off here and say YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TIME, AND I CAN PROVE IT. I can also HELP!
Give me ONE day of honest assessment:
Track your day literally every 30 minutes make a note of what you have done in this space of time. Journal your day as close to the times as you can.
Be HONEST (Goofed off, social media, personal stuff, bathroom breaks) Chronicle it all HONESTLY.
Then with all the time, you’ve wasted doing junk. Add that number up and times it by your work weekdays.
I would challenge you to fill 1 hour with complete focus. NO phone, no email, nothing but real production. As you can begin to focus like this on daily tasks, complete one move on (oh, by the way, multi-taskers the 90’s called they want you to come home).
Laser-sharp focuses on the task at hand. Start and complete. It’s much harder than you might think to fill an entire hour with PRODUCTION.
Now you must begin to realize the enemy; your head will not want to let go of your goof-off time smoothly. You will start “this doesn’t work” “its too hard” will fill your head with crap. How bad do you want to win? Bad enough to not kick your own ass???
This is why we set out a year for changes in our life. You want lasting change? Do something that produces a result religiously for one hour per day for an entire year. This time next year, you will not know yourself as you do today. You will have achieved much, my dear friends.
Living in the Lord’s favor is NOT a direct result of the investment you make financially into these so-called prosperity preachers.
God will not say, âWow, family, you were just $20 short in giving to receive a blessing!â Therefore, you lost everything. Do not listen to that hogwash to get into your pocket.
Do not buy into; send $50 bucks and get a cloth or other premium. Do you honestly believe God will bless you after you receive a towel? Or, does your heart tell you that if I am the right person, I put others before myself, I am obedient to Godâs word that some towel is going to turbocharge your blessings???
Turbocharge your blessing through faith! God knows and he does not need to see you waiving a towel.
“The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.”–Billy Graham
For years for this very example, I would not darken-the-door of any church. Made fun of those that did.
Here is the skinny:
Yes, you should give what you can to the Church of your choice. Those that tithe should provide about 10% of your income. If your family is able, then let the Lord guide you.
God is going to judge us by our good works. For example, if you cannot give financially, can you give of your time?
If you are sick, STAY WITH YOUR DOCTOR! Pray as a family for Godâs healing! If these healing preachers can truly heal. Why are they not touring hospitals to do just that? God does perform miracles! Let your doctor, however, tell you the miracle saved you. Not some dude in a $10,000 suit with a Rolex tells you.
This article is not me telling you how to believe. It is me telling you to be careful who you believe, God is your first choice EVERY TIME. Too many charlatans out there speaking for God. Telling you God told them to buy a specific airplane; are you kidding me???
The scary part is we do not have a way to challenge a claim someone makes coming from God. You do, however, can say, âCome on now God has been shopping for you a new airplane?â I do not begrudge a successful person the riches of life. However, I do have a problem with poor folks sending money to support the cost of an executive jet.
How many Church parishioners have flown with the Pastor? How many Church members that needed to be transported for Cancer treatment or other malady enjoyed riding on the Gulfstream 550 the pastor goes on vacation with. If the Church is paying for it, ask yourself, why is it not being used for these purposes?
(A conservative estimate it costs around $2100 per hour in fuel â402 gallons per hourâ to operate a Large Corporate Jet. That number is before crew and maintenance)
If the Jet is being paid for with âFor Profitâ proceeds, that to me is totally fine. Just do not use poor folksâ money to ride first class, that at its core is disgusting.
I get why high-level executives fly around privately, heck if I made enough money from my book sales, absolutely I would love to have my own plane. Again, if I am taking money from poor people to do that, NO!
So many preachers out telling you to send money and receive some sort of premium. In my reading the bible, I only recall Jesus GIVING never taking. Or offering some incentive to gain his favor. The Bible teaches us good works, living as God instructs. Never does it say send in to get an anointed towel for $50 and God will bless you.
God does instruct us to give. I believe God wants us to give back to our Church, where we are fed his word. That part I can get my head around. I also think that by our good works, helping others, we will also receive God’s grace.
Some dude sending me an outline of his foot, I do the same and send $37 back will get me some sort of blessing.
Want to catch Godâs eye. Give your life to him!
Do the work God puts forth in the Bible. Follow it to the letter. I promise you will receive everything the Bible promises. Give to the local Church that inspires you. My Church I want to support because I am fed the word of God. I do not have to buy a premium to receive Godâs grace!
As I grow Spiritually, my thoughts have been turned to Preachers I one time admired to saying, Wow, God never said that! It talks about in the Bible false prophets.
I do have a magnificent Church I attend. The Pastor teaches straight from the Bible and offers a transparent approach to the sermon. Believe what God says in the Bible!
We all in desperate times would do just about anything to have peace, save our child from Cancer, save ourselves from Cancer, or the like. God does and can perform miracles in our life. Just make sure it is HIM the Lord you are speaking too! I promise you while on your knees praying, he wonât be asking, âHow much money âseed-faithâ can you give to save your child from cancer?
In this life, none of us utterly understand why a child suffers from Cancer or another horrible disease. Or how we as adults may suffer. The answer waits for us in Heaven. When itâs time to go home, itâs just time to go home. No amount of seed faith, prayer clothes, oil, or other premium is going to stop Godâs will. No matter how much we do not understand or hate it, itâs only our time to go.
Our walk with God is with him!
A true Spiritual leader will teach you the path you need to walk with God. They will not tell you that God needs your financial investment to love you. God loves you with an everlasting love and always will. Seek him!
Choose who you wish to learn the word of God carefully. Make sure the Church and pastor truly align with the word of God. Do this and you will find life beyond anything you ever imagined!
Over our lifetimes, we can accumulate a landfill of garbage in our heads. This is garbage that has taken a lifetime to gather. However, it is now time to empty the trash, letâs go learn how!
Let me share the same advice with you that my mother bestowed upon me. âIt took you a lifetime to break your life, have the patience to allow change to occur.â
She is right; it has taken a lifetime to accumulate so much trash, it may take a garbage bag or a hundred to empty out our noodle. The good news is a lot of the garbage can be taken out never to return simply because you are ready for change. You are right?
What exactly are we talking about, garbage?
Negativity
Fear
Hopelessness
Self-Loathing
Depression
Addiction
You get the idea!
Letâs plot out an action plan for change:
Make the decision you want to change your life. Whatever it is you feel you need to change, decide that today forward no more. The new you is at hand.
Organize your life so that you can feel like you are achieving something every day.
Learn how to quiet your mind. This will take some practice but will be the most fantastic thing you can do for yourself. Use headphones, find some relaxing meditation music, sounds, rain, etc. Turn off anything that will disturb you and on get somewhere no interruptions! Cannot stress that enough. Learn to relax and quiet your mind. This will open your mind and allow you to just relax.
Let God know what you desire and ask for the wisdom to find what you seek.
Get healthy. Walk to relieve tension in your body. When youâre healthy, you will be less fatigued. Your body will respond better to change.
Find something that is NOT about you. Volunteer and help others. Doing something that benefits others has an incredible cathartic result.
Learn to be thankful right where you are. Let God know every day you love what you have. When you are okay where you are. God will see that you can have more than you are ready for more in your life. Gratitude is a wonderfully blissful peace in your mind.
Donât overload yourself. Pick a couple of things and do them consistently. We stop change because we overwhelm our brains. Believing we must do all this stuff to get a replacement now. Slow down, and change will come more quickly.
Someone shared with me, âthe state of my house is in direct correlation with the state of my mind.â Look around for clutter. Get the clutter out of your life. No, itâs not organized its confusion. Desk, car, home, or office. Organize!
When deciding what your life should look like take the following OUT of the equation:
Donât have the money.
Donât have the time.
Donât have the resources.
Donât have enough education.
Too old or too young.
When framing a new life. Do it from the world is your oyster. You have NO obstacles in the way. I can hear some of you, I donât have money, I donât have time!
Learn quickly that in life, you can throw up an obstacle to stifle yourself. If you believe in something enough, PUT FORTH THE WORK TO ATTAIN IT. What you need will come to you someway somehow, even when you see NO idea at all.
Give this to God. Let him see you working diligently, stay in faith. You donât know how, but you know God will make a way.
Hebrews 11:1-6 King James Version (KJV)
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Do everything you can to make your dreams come true. Cannot sit on your duff and expect God to just Miracle a million dollars in your bank. That is called the lottery!
You must condition yourself to release negative thoughts as they enter your mind. This is a pass you need to fumble. Drop the ball, let it go, donât even try to catch the negative thoughts. Easier said than done, I get it. However, you can acknowledge the idea with a resounding âDelete.â
Meditation helps with this. See yourself happy, loved, and doing the life you want. The big difference in having the experience you wish to versus having a life you are stuck with. None of us are stuck, oh, you might think you are, but you are not! That much I am 100% on.
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