I AM TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

I refuse to be discouraged, to be sad or to cry.

I refuse to be downhearted and here's the reason why:

I have a God who is almighty; who is sovereign and supreme;

I have a God who loves me, and I am on his team.

He is all wise and powerful; Jesus is His Name; though everything else is changeable, My God remains the same.

I refuse to be defeated.

My eyes are on my GOD.

He has promised to be with me, as through this life I trod.

I am looking past my circumstances, to heaven's throne above.

My prayers have reached the heart of God.

I am resting in His love.

I give thanks to Him in everything.

My eyes are on His face.

The battle is His; the victory is in Him; He will help me win the race.

I repeat, I'M TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!" You have just taken a dose of encouragement. God's love to you.

Healed and Whole

One day I dug a little hole,
and put my hurt inside
I thought that I could just forget
I'd put it there to hide.
But that little hurt began to grow,
I covered it every day
I couldn't leave it and go on
It seemed the price I had to pay.

My joy was gone,
my heart was sad,
pain was all I knew.
My wounded soul enveloped me
Loving seemed too hard to do.
one day, while standing by my hole,
I cried to God above
And said, "If You are really there,
They say, You're a God of Love!"

And just like that,
He was right there,
And just put His arms around me
He wiped my tears,
his hurting child there was no safer place to be.
I told Him all about my hurt,
I opened up my heart
He listened to each and every word
to every sordid part.

I dug down deep and got my hurt
I brushed the dirt away
And placed it in the Master's hand
and healing came that day.
He took the blackness of my soul
and set my spirit FREE!
Something beautiful began to grow
where the hurt used to be.

And when I look at what has grown
Out of my tears and pain
I remember every day
to give my hurts to GOD
And never bury them again.

Have faith in our Loving God.
There is nothing in this world
too big for our LORD.
May GOD bless you each and every one.

Grandma and the Cake

A little boy is telling his Grandma how "everything" is going wrong. School, family problems, severe health problems, etc.   Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake.  She asks her grandson if he would like a snack, which of course he does.

"Here, have some cooking oil."

"Yuck" says the boy.

 "How about a couple raw eggs? "

"Gross, Grandma!"

 "Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"


"Grandma, those are all yucky!"

To which Grandma replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves.  But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way.  Many times we wonder why he would let us go through such bad and difficult times.  But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good!  We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!"

Accepting God's Forgiveness

God is merciful. He is gracious. We could never do enough to earn the grace of salvation. Just as every obedient person from Abel to the Jews on the day of Pentecost, we do whatever our Father specifically requires of us, whether or not it seems to make sense. We then follow His general commands to the best of our abilities--and with the right attitude, realizing that God expects only a reasonable service.

I am not perfect, and I never will be. I must constantly ask for forgiveness as I realize my imperfections and repent of them. I realize God has given both specific commands and general commands. I must follow the specific instructions, and I gladly fulfill the general mandates by my reasonable service from a heart overflowing with thankfulness for His grace which I could never deserve.

None of us can live a victorious life it we feel that we must earn every step of our salvation. It is utterly impossible. Such an attitude brings only frustration to those honest enough to realize their own inadequacy. By our faith-belief coupled with obedience-we leap into God's arms of grace. We cannot live victoriously without accepting God's forgiveness, and in turn, forgiving ourselves.

Happiness Is The Way

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are.

After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.

 The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time...and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. Work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, And dance like no one's watching.

God has given each of us a "gift" that we are to use to glorify His name! Do you know yours???
-- Author Unknown

Flame of Love

"I can master it," said the Ax. His blows fell heavy on the hard, strong steel. But each blow only made his edge more blunt until he ceased to strike.

"Leave it to me," said the Saw. With his relentless teeth, he worked back and forth. But to his dismay, all of his teeth were worn out or broken off.

"Ha!" said the Hammer. "I knew you could not do this. Let me show you how." But with the very first blow, his head flew off, and the steel was unchanged.

"Shall I try?" asked the Flame. And it curled itself gently around the strong, hard steel, embraced it, and would not let it go. And the tough steel melted.

There are hearts that are hard enough to resist the forces of wrath and the fury of pride. But hard is the heart that can resist the warm Flame of Love.

"'For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.'" Matthew 13:15-17 (NIV)

-- Author Unknown