Inspire Me - If I Had

Just sharing...

God Bless.

Today's Quotation:

If I had my child to raise over again,

I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.

I'd do less correcting, and more connecting.

I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less, and know to care more.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I'd run through more fields, and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging, and less tugging.

I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.

I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I'd teach less about the love of power,

And more about the power of love.

It matters not whether my child is big or small,

From this day forth, I'll cherish it all.

Diana Loomans

Today's Meditation:

I have found it a very helpful practice to take some time to reflect and evaluate upon my parenting habits and methods from time to time. It is quite easy to get caught up in the duties and tasks of life and put parenting on the back burner, or to only give limited resources to my children. And by reflecting upon the joys available to me--the love, the memories, the laughter, the smiles, the kisses and hugs, the amazement and wonder, and so much more--I am able to increase my awareness of the beauty of children in each passing moment.

One of the things I tend to forget is that my happiness in life is tied to my experience of life. So if I let myself get stressed out, or anxious, or depressed, and miss out on experiencing the joys of parenting, then I also miss out on a plethora of happiness that is uniquely available to me during this chapter of my life. And this happiness is available for us all to experience--grandparents, foster parents, daycare workers, teachers, nannies, babysitters, aunts and uncles--for there is no chapter in our lives in which we are not able to "cherish it all" in our relationships with children.

Our children need us in their lives... and we need them just the same. Connect with them. Spend time with them. Care about them. Experience them. Support them with love and affirmation, hugs and kisses. Get the most out of parenting... you only get to raise your children once.

Today's Challenge: Give an hour of your day to a child.

Questions to consider:

Why is it difficult for us to remain focused on the importance of experiencing our relationships with our children?

How much effort do you put into parenting and/or positively affecting the lives of children?

What are some ways in which you can strengthen the lives of children with affirmation and love?

For further thought:

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children." And he said: Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

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Inspire Me Books (Amazon)

Inspire Me: Currents...

Inspire Me: The Swells...

https://amazon.com/author/clstarling

Series of daily inspirations revisited and revised for publication. Thank you for all the interest and support through the years.

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How Well

Loved this and I wanted to share the wealth. 

God Bless.

Solid Joys

How Well Do You Know God?

Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.

Job 36:26

It is impossible to know God too well.

He is the most important person who exists. And this is because he made all others, and any importance they have is owing to him.

Any strength or intelligence or skill or beauty that other beings have comes from him. On every scale of excellence, he is infinitely greater than the best person you ever knew or ever heard of.

Being infinite, he is inexhaustibly interesting. It is impossible, therefore, that God be boring. His continual demonstration of the most intelligent and interesting actions is volcanic.

As the source of every good pleasure, he himself pleases fully and finally. If that’s not how we experience him, we are either dead, or blind, or sleepwalking.

It is therefore astonishing how little effort in this world is put into knowing God.

It’s as though the President of the United States came to live with you for a month, and you only said hello in passing every day or so. Or as if you were flown at the speed of light for a couple of hours around the sun and the solar system, and instead of looking out the window, you played a computer game. Or as if you were invited to watch the best actors, singers, athletes, inventors, and scholars perform their best, but you declined to go, so you could watch the TV season’s final soap.

Let us pray together that our infinitely great God would incline our hearts, and open our eyes to see him as fully as we can and seek to know him more.

God Knows

Leaving it right here. 

God Bless.

Inspire Me - Everytime

Just putting it out there.

God Bless

Today's Quotation:

Every single time you help someone stand up, you are helping humanity rise.

Steve Maraboli

Today's Meditation:

I have found that it is quite easy in life to forget that every person I encounter truly is my brother and sister--that I am dealing with a fellow human being who is going through a similar experience in life as I myself am, handling some of the very same issues, feeling some of the very same joys and sorrows. Yet when I take the time to see the humanity within those I meet, I cannot help but feel compassion towards them. And when I feel compassion towards my fellow man, it becomes easy to help them to stand back up when they fall or are in need of a hand.

Every day of our lives, we have numerous opportunities to connect with other humans and enrich both of our lives significantly. And as Steve points out, in doing so, we additionally are helping the whole of humanity to rise and to grow stronger--we are helping the world to become a better place and a better experience for all of us here.

It may be easy for us to categorize those we meet today--this is a cashier at the convenience store, this is my waitress, this is the checkout handler at the grocery store. But no one is a machine. We all have feelings, dreams, and perspectives on life that are just as valid as the next.

Help those around you today. Recognize the humanity within others--the thoughts, hopes, fears, dreams, ambitions, desires, and sufferings--and then extend a helping hand and a compassionate heart.

Today's Challenge: Help someone "stand up" today.

Questions to consider:

Can you think of any opportunities you may have had to help someone stand up today?

Is it easy for you to see the humanity in other people, or do you tend to take them for granted?

What would the world be like if we all recognized and respected the humanity in all of the other people that we meet each day?

For further thought:

Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.

Mother Theresa

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Inspire Me Books (Amazon)

Inspire Me: Currents...

Inspire Me: The Swells...

https://amazon.com/author/clstarling

Series of daily inspirations revisited and revised for publication. Thank you for all the interest and support through the years.

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Be An Example

This...

God Bless.

Be An Example

And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. (NLT)

Download:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fishmy.android

There Is No Use

Probably my worst weakness and I don't mind saying it.

I am always in need of encouragement. So, I thought I would share the wealth. 

God Bless.

Daily Wisdom Bible Study

Chronological Bible Study from the book of Proverbs

 by Christian Channel

There is No Use for a Lazy Man – (Proverbs 19:15)

There is No Use for a Lazy Man – (Proverbs 19:15)

Daily Proverbs

Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

Daily Bible Study

It's interesting to note that the Bible calls for mercy and compassion on many types of behavior and social conditions. For many sins, God tells us to show love and understanding. However, the Bible only speaks contempt for laziness. It's a very true saying, "nothing can be done with a person who won't get out of bed." Laziness or slothfulness as the Bible also calls it, is the one sin that truly wastes all of God's blessings and gifts. Laziness is the one sin that nullifies all the gifts God has given a person. It's a sin that truly wastes the gifts of God and man. Moreover, it's one of the only sins which a righteous God and sinful men both hate. Laziness is also one of the hardest sins for us to change or remove, because it can so intertwine itself into the heart of a person. Laziness attacks our very soul, it affects the mind, body and spirit. Laziness is the one sin that actually changes the character and the very nature of a person. This means that unfortunately there is little we can do to change a person who has the sin of laziness. However, what's impossible for us to change or cure, is possible for God. What's impossible for us to accomplish in our fallen state, is possible for a holy, omnipotent, sovereign God to heal and remove.

And that's why prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit is so important in the lives of the Christian. It's the process of sanctification worked out in us by the Holy Spirit, which changes a man's heart from the inside out. And the process of sanctification starts when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Only through salvation can God change the character of a person and turn them into a fruitful child of God. In addition, once that change has taken place and we become children of God adopted into the family of God through faith in Christ, we can come before God the Father in prayer. God not only hears our prayers, but prayer is one of the many gifts of our salvation. Prayer is the gift of communication and relationship with God. Through prayer, we can strengthen our relationship with the sovereign God of the universe. Moreover, through prayer, we can participate in God's kingdom work and affect change in the lives of Christians all around the world. Through prayer we can ask God to truly change the heart and the nature of a person who has the nature of laziness. Therefore, we are to place our trust in the Lord and His work in our lives and the lives of others. Part of the way in which we do this, is to make sure we spend time with the Lord in prayer, in the study of His word and on our knees making intercession for those who need God's assistance. 

 

We Build Our Families on God’s Love – (Proverbs 19:13-14)

There is No Use for a Lazy Man – (Proverbs 19:15)

We Build Our Families on God’s Love – (Proverbs 19:13-14)

God Raises Up Rulers and Nations – (Proverbs 19:12)

Discretion, Patience and Restraint Bring Honor – (Proverbs 19:11)

God Requires Honesty In All Areas of Our Life – (Proverbs 19:10)

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Praise Him Again

Food for the soul written in the words below...

God Bless.

Praise Him Again

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! (NLT)

Psalms 42:11

Life is full of struggles but we can’t let our circumstances be our excuse not to praise our worthy God. The psalmist acknowledged his heartbreak but declared his resolve to praise God again. Has life made you question where your hope lies? Pain is a part of what it is to be human but God is still good and deserves your praise.

Download:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fishmy.android