The Daily Devotional Blog

The Chosen One "And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward." 1 Those scriptures say a whole bunch. They're loaded with so much I can expound, but I'm just going to concentrate on one fact: How blessed David was although he was looked upon with scorn from his family. Support may not come from family (or friends), but don't you give up on what the Lord has for you. God will gi...

Motivation is not a big factor. We have to just do it. As I continue to read the ebook, Mini Habits , I want to update you on my take-aways. I like the part about motivation. It's been teaching me alot. I understand why Stephen Guise's book is ranking so well on Amazon. It is truly a great read. In fact, he has increased the price on it.  Smart move.  As you know, I have blogged about this book twice already, here and here . I think I will continue to update you until I finish the book. The following are what I highlighted in my copy of the ebook: 1. "If getting motivated is your strategy, you can’t build habits" (p 37). 2. "Motivation is unreliable because it’s based on how you feel. Many things can alter your feelings. With a “get motivated” strategy, not only do you have to be motivated to do something, but you have to be most motivated to do it. So, to get motivated to exercise, you would have to want to exercise more than you want to ea...

We can make it and when we make it, then we can help others make it. "A situation in which one event causes a series of similar events to happen one after another." 1 That's the Domino Effect. Or it could also be said that "you attract who you are, not what you want. If you want great, then be great." 2 That's a pretty cut and dry quote, isn't it? It really requires no explanation, does it? I will give you my two cents anyway. What that means to me is, if we want success (whatever that means to us), we have to be about it, not talk about it. We have to walk the walk, not talk ourselves and others into oblivion by not making any moves forward.   Isn't it time to get off the merry-go-round and start walking or crawling if we must? Once we start moving we will begin covering new territory simply because we are exploring. And exploration sets forth new discoveries. Then new discoveries bring about new relationships. Then those rel...

The binary system has a certain language and so does the God system. Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? If not, we're not speaking the same language. In order for different systems to function properly they have to understand the same terminology and speak the same language. Without it, things will not work and thus, will breakdown and fail. The binary system is one such system. It's 'a computer's numeric system that only uses 0's and 1's which stores data and performs calculations in order to carry out complex functions.' 1 To the people in the computer technology system,  binary talk is a familiar and necessary language. It is important for communication and interaction between the computer and computer operators. Without it I wouldn't be typing each word right now. Or at least it wouldn't be clear to my readers.  I would imagine that it could be a complex system that only those in that field unders...

When successful ideas come from God they will never fail. You ever run out of ideas to do successful things?  If the answer is yes, then there is no reason for that. If the reason is no, then whether you know it or not, you have tapped into an overflowing resource. God.  Yep, that's right. Did you know He gives you those witty ideas and marvelous creations? You didn't think they just popped into your head for no reason did you? No sir, no ma'am, there's a reason for those ideas. Whether you know the Lord God or not, He allows those ideas to develop inside of you and to become wondrous wealthy creations. Think about any successful business. God is the reason it blew up to what it became. God allowed it to. And He knows the ones who give Him credit and the ones who don't. But that's none of my business. That's between them and God. You see, nobody knows why God allows certain people to create certain things at certain times. But I can guarante...

I still have some areas I need to work on. As promised in my previous article on Mini Habits from the book, Mini Habits , I am reporting back to you regarding the book. It's a pretty good read. I'm not that far into the book, but I'm reading it...slowly. The author, Stephen Guise, makes an interesting point as he explains that, "good habits are as amazing as bad habits are dreadful" (ebook p 424). What that means to me is that it's all about perspective. If we look at developing a good habit with a positive attitude then that's probably what will happen and vice versa. Nevertheless, I need all the help I can get in developing better habits in several areas of my life. As I continue on with reading the book I expect to learn new tools. I'm learning more than I thought about how the brain works (Guise goes quite a bit into detail about how the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia works regarding motivation and will power). Will I rep...

eBook: 10 Reasons Why Some  People are Under  Constant Stress and Pressure.  And how to overcome them. Description: "This walk of life is not an easy one. I know how hard it is, but the Lord doesn’t want us to give up. He wants us to be all we can be in order for Him to bless us to be a bigger blessing for others. Regarding the 10 Reasons Why Some People are Under Constant Stress and Pressure,  if we can just work on 1 of the 10 things at a time I’m convinced the pressure, stress, and misery in our lives will decrease and will be eventually eliminated. Then when life’s challenging and difficult circumstances come we will have peace throughout it all. We will be in it for the long haul. I hope people can learn some things from my life. I hope one of the take-aways is that you don’t have to suffer unnecessary heartache, because the issues that come up in life are temporary issues that are made to strengthen us. I’m a witness. You can be wo...

God's forgiveness is unlimited. There's no such thing as only a 2nd chance with God, because there's no cap on His forgiveness. We can't put a limit on His forgiveness, because it's unlimited. If we threw up all the numbers forever and got different sums, we would still be unable to come up with any sum that would determine how many times Jesus forgives us for our sins, our errors, our mistakes.  Isn't that amazing?  Isn't is great to know that although people will hold us accountable for our mistakes (even though they also make their mistakes), that Jesus forgives us before we even make them...because He knows we will make them? How many people do we know who would do that?  Some of us think we're better, because our mistakes (sin) are different than another person's, but there's no difference. Sin is sin. Mistakes are mistakes. A woman can't be a little pregnant. She either is or she isn't. We have to just be straig...

Don't do it.  Because if you do it's like giving all of your secrets away -- Your God-given secrets.  Don't put all your money; or your information; or your educational pursuits; or your skills, or your "eggs" in one basket, because what if something goes wrong with that basket? Then what?  What if all that money in that one investment goes belly up? What if that only college you applied to rejects you? What if that one friend decides he doesn't want to be your friend anymore? What if that one job interview that went so well, falls though and you didn't go to anymore interviews? It can all be catastrophic and we don't want that. You follow me?  We have to diversify, change things up, use variety and do different things with different people in different places. That way we are prone to land on our feet in some, if not all, of those endeavors. If we don't do those things we may find ourselves out there in the cold with no co...

We all need a person we can count on. Do you know people who don't ask for help when it's needed; or who accept information from misinformed people; or who hardly receive wisdom when it's given from wise people? Sometimes they want to do their own thing and nobody can tell them nothing. I can almost guarantee that such people make lots of mistakes that can be avoided. I used to be that person.  Grasping for straws in the dark. Asking for advice from fools. Of course I did foolish things as a result. The blind leading the blind.  A total hot mess seeking direction from total hot messes.  What a mess. Now I'm wiser and I'm all the better for it. I have an awesome accountability person who has helped make me a better person. She has been my confidant, my wise bounce-off person, and a non judgmental friend. Just a few weeks ago I text her at 5am in the morning and asked if she could call me when she got a minute. I was having a hard morning that...

Sometimes blocking certain people from our lives is a good thing. Sometimes we come to a place in life when we have to make hard decisions. Like making the choice to block people. Certain people who mean us no good. Sometimes we have to let those people go if after awhile it doesn't look like things are getting better in our relationships with them. These are the people who are lukewarm, moody, rude, and just plain negative. All mixed in together! That's a lot to deal with all the time.  Saying goodbye is maybe in order if we can't grow with that person. And things will be ok.  One of the ways we can tell when we need to say adios is when almost everything that comes out of a person's mouth is slamming others. Another red flag is every conversation you have with the person is never about goals, growth, and helping others. It's mostly about other people and getting over on people. Really? Doesn't that get old? Don't we get too old for that...

God is the source that brings light & life. We all need power, don't we? God's power . Because we can't do anything in our own might. It doesn't matter if we call ourselves Christians or not, God runs it. He's the boss of the world and He controls it all. And since I'm in His family I get more of His power than people who are not. Like a great parent, He takes care of His children before anyone else's.   Naturally, in this day and age anyone who doesn't use power of any sort, it's by choice. They probably live in never never land or the boonies if they don't tap into any power source. And regarding today's technology, in order to communicate effectively there's no doubt that technology is a must. It's the best way to send and receive quick messages. In fact it's the best method of communication we have ever had in the the history of the world... almost . God's power (the "Source") and His commun...

When we make time for God, He will make time for us. In Charles Stanley's book, Living in His Sufficiency , he asks, 'where do we turn to first when we have a crisis in our lives?' For me that has been Christ. As I said in a previous article, He's the solid Rock of my life -- the Rock that tells me all will be ok when I t rust in the Him forever,  for He Himself is the Rock eternal. 1 Who else am I going to turn, to work miracles, to comfort me, to fight my battles, and to help me in a dire situation?   We all have had our seasons of challenges, struggles, and pain. What I am coming to realize is that people can only help you, but so much.They mean well, but their power is limited. God's power is all powerful. It's mighty. And His ways are the best ways. He has never steered me wrong with anything I needed help with. He truly directs my paths and smooths them out as He orders every last one of them. So, to me it makes perfect sense to se...

Nothing can stop God's mission for you, but you. Can't stop, won't stop. Don't stop. For nothing. For no one, For no place. Because everything that is supposed to happen for you will happen if you don't grow weary and give up . Give God a chance to do what He said He would do. Listen to no one who tells you any different. God knows what's up and He is serious about His business. You're included in that. He has your name and your address. He knows where you are at all times. He is the great creator and organizer of everything that happens. He starts it and stops it at His will. So you see there is no obstacle, mountain, storm, fire, or valley that can stop what He has for you.  Consequently, you know what else that all means, right? That means it's done. Your future is already sealed and that won't change unless you decide to change it based on the free will God has given you. He is such a great God that He gives us the freedom to c...

Stop ssshhing people.  Don't underestimate a person's voice. Let them speak. When you have been in education as long as I have, you tend to see students of all ages who feel like they don't have a voice. That really bothers me.  Why would anyone try to muzzle someone's voice? Especially a young person so full of promise.  I have a problem with authority figures who are afraid when a young person has an opinion or asks questions. There's nothing wrong with being questioned. In fact, I welcome it as long as it's done in a respectful and intelligent manner. That's how I raised my kids. That's part of how leaders are made. Young people shouldn't be put in a box. They should be allowed to use their voice by getting as much practice as possible in order to grow up to become the leaders God made them to be. This is similar to David when he was anointed to become king. God picked him because he had something special and he goes down in...

Do you know any of the answers? Do you know your Why ? If you know your Why , you'll know your what, when, where, who, and how. Why do we exist? What did God put us on the earth to do? When do we begin what it is He ordained us to do? Where exactly should it take place? Who is involved? How will it happen? Those are all important questions that need to be answered in order to understand our Why .  Once we know our Why , we can then proceed with the road map the Lord has given us to go forth and multiply. That means we will begin the work of our calling. Then and only then will we see the real manifestation of how God will use us to connect with people and help them.  Part of figuring out that puzzle of our lives is what makes us cry, what bothers us, what makes us want to take a stand even if it means we won't be the most popular. I know for me that is to help suffering people, especially kids and other people who can't help themselves. When my mother w...

GIGO, the abbreviation for Garbage In, Garbage Out. A computer term that means, "if incorrect data is input to a program, the output is unlikely to be informative." 1 In other words if you put junk in, you'll get junk back. Real simple. Reminds you of life, doesn't it? If we deal with messy people and messy things that's what we'll end up with. A mess. GIGO. Birds of a feather... We have to be careful who and what we allow in our database of life, because one wrong piece of data can screw the entire program up. And sometimes figuring out what went wrong takes forever. Nobody has time for that. The bottom line is we must watch who's around us and what comes in our space, because everyone and every thing doesn't have our best interest in mind. We have to use wisdom and discernment. That's what Moses did when he decided to go to God instead of being negatively influenced by some of the people who wanted him out 2 as their leader. He...

I believe in life coaches, because they help people. Life coaches 1 help us 'discover what our obstacles or challenges might be, and choose a course of action to make our life be what we want it to be.' I believe in the concept of life coaches. I support what it aims to do for people. Anytime someone is interested in helping others navigate their lives I'm in. I personally know effective life coaches and they are extremely helpful in people's lives. They know what they're doing and it works well for both sides.  And why would I knock the advancement, progress, and development of people? Whatever works for them works for me. Especially and as long as it's ok with God. I think He's just fine with people as life coaches. So wouldn't it make sense that the ultimate Life Coach would be ok with life coaches? Makes perfect sense to me and it if didn't that would be ok too, because when   we  "trust the Lord with all our heart and don...

Don't waste time comparing yourself to  anything or anybody because it's not based on reality. FAKEbook. TWISTer. InstaGLAM. You get the point, right? Social media is a fraud, but only some of it. There's a definite positive part of it. The part that is used for productive content that really helps people. There are large arrays of informative content that expose and open us up to positive influences for our lives. I love that part of it. That's primarily the honest part of social media that I can respect. The other side is ugly, fake, twisted, and appears to be glamorous to the point of people continuously comparing themselves to unreality, fantasy, and fiction. This part of social media is why some people who already have self image issues feel worse about themselves. They're comparing their lives to the people, places, and things they think they see. False imagery, illusions, facades, masquerades, charades, and the greatest show on earth with the ...

Focus on catching people  doing right and see what happens. I read a book a few times called, The One Minute Manager , by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson (this article references their older version). I think it's one of those books that people should read once per year, at least (I need to work on that).  It's a book about managers or leaders who focus on catching their people doing the right thing instead of catching them doing the wrong thing. I worked for a manager like that before, one who was more interested in catching people doing the wrong thing (ie, unintentionally doing a process wrong) and let me tell you I was gone in 60 seconds. I couldn't work like that. I couldn't work for someone who didn't trust that I was not going to do my job. How can you trust someone who doesn't trust you?  Yet, most people will do great work for a leader -- a manager, teacher, or parent who reinforces great behavior. It works for me and I have see...

Don't be a copy. Be yourself. I once heard someone say he wished he could be someone else.  But guess what? God didn't make a mistake when He created us. He made us in His own image. Exquisitely and perfectly made . Utter perfection. So there's no need to try to copy anyone else. And there's no need to want to be anyone else.  In fact, it's actually an insult to God to be unhappy with His magnificent creations. I'm not saying a person who thought that or who thinks it is purposely insulting God. All I'm saying is that when we think that way whether we realize it or not, it is our way of saying to God that what He created in us wasn't good enough.  We are good enough. God doesn't create junk.  He creates masterpieces and for us to want to be in someone else's skin is telling God He messed up in creating us. Not so, he didn't mess up. He never has and never will. That's impossible. To be someone else is also telli...

Just start where you are until it becomes habit. I stumbled upon a book called Mini Habits 1 and I decided to order it.  I haven't read it yet, but I may report back to you when I'm done. It's about doing the same thing everyday until it becomes easier, routine, a habit, even if it's only 5 minutes a day. In fact, the author says if we don't have the time to read his book we can take our time by reading 2 pages a day until we finish it (establishing a habit of reading and finishing something).  After reading it I hope to become better at practicing and mastering certain things in my life. I think part of the unmotivation I have regarding certain areas is that certain things are just downright boring. Nevertheless, I know I need to do the boring stuff now, so I can do the fun stuff later.  This blog helps me establish habits and it helps me with finishing things. People are becoming to expect it daily and I take that seriously. Imagine if Lebron Jam...

Life groups bring excitement.   My church has life groups. That's when someone opens their home to others. Similar to what Martha did for Jesus. Life groups are meant to bring people together. They're small groups that meet in different church members' homes scattered across different areas of the town or city of the church. If your church is big, there will probably be many life groups. Life groups give life. At least that's what my life group does for me. I never understood why a person wouldn't want to at least give one a try. They are so much fun, because they are many personalities within each group. You also get prayer, learn more about the bible, eat good food and gain emotional support. I've been a part of them for over 12 years. I've seen the impact they've had on my life and my family's life. The people within each group tend to have exactly what you're looking for. If you have a void, it will more than likely get filled d...

God is the creator. That's all to it. God’s spirit must be respected.  I just do not understand how people do not acknowledge what the Lord has done for them. Excuse me, but I'm really passionate about this, because I want us to get it. How is it that we exist in this world and do not realize we could not exist without God? Guess what folks? There is no Big Bang Theory, there is no black hole coming from nowhere. We did not evolve from a black space of darkness that began with a huge bang, a gigantic impact, or a big sound that was made into the universe. We did not evolve from cavemen either. And just in case you're still not convinced, I have a question for you? How were flesh, blood, skin, bones, souls, minds, created? You understand what I am asking? There is no way science can explain that. There is only one clear explanation for it: God. That’s all. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; ...