God created us with a “Soul” that is both living and active.  The question is whether we cultivate the right skills or perspectives needed to live as we were designed for or not.  Getting married is a good example. We travel through life expecting to pick up the needed “Equipping” along the way and yet at least 50% of marriages end in a divorce and those who stay married are often living substandard marriages, not because they desire to fail, but because they aren’t educated enough to gain the proper tools needed. As our souls are made of three parts, “Mind-Will-Emotions” each of these parts needs the right equipping to function as God designed. If one part is ill-equipped or crippled then that part will affect the whole soul. This article is part five in a series on “Maintaining a Healthy Soul.” If you have not read the previous articles please stop and read them or you will miss the connection between them.

Those of us who are over 45 years old or more ( that was a long time ago for me ) rarely take seriously the tradition of making a New Year Resolution mostly due to that fact of not keeping those resolutions after January. Truth be told, what we call resolutions aren’t truly a solid decision to change but rather an admitting of a weakness in our life style we regret. Sometimes admitting we need to change is very difficult depending on how many areas we struggled with the year before and yet to admit a weakness of failure can be the first step in becoming healthier.

As a person with a “Bent” for seeing through things, it’s easy for me to be captivated by what’s out-of-order, missing or just wrong. It really doesn’t matter the subject or place I find myself, I can enter a business and I can quickly spot things that could be handled or organized better. When driving I’m a rules guy so you can imagine how easy it is for me to get captivated by what people should or should not be doing when driving.  It’s a “challenge” to be thankful given all the distractions in life.

This article has part 1 & 2 so please read the two previous articles with the same title before reading this one which is part 3. The purpose of the series is to look at the hunger amongst church people to embrace a leader because they speak well, while their conduct and treatment of the people in their congregation is less than Christ would expect from shepherds of his flocks.

The problem with humanity is that we have a very small perspective on greatness. We get so captivated by the latest tech gear. I remember when the first iPhone came out. I was there, waiting in line for hours, something I have never done for anything else. All to buy a phone that became obsolete within a few short years.

In the last article on living in fear, I talked about the fact that men and women struggle with fear in various forms, but it all goes back to creation when man walked away from a trusted relationship with their Creator and bought into the lies of Satan, thus making fear a cornerstone of his deception. All too often we try to deal with the effects of fear and not the root cause. If you haven’t read the first installment on this subject please read that first.

Have you ever been surprised by what comes out of your mouth or what comes out of the mouth of others? It seems we all make the mistake of talking before we think. The question is why? Why do people embrace themselves, and for that fact, why do we embrace ourselves by speaking things that are not factual or down right lies?

I’m sitting on my patio this morning praying when the thought comes to me, “Remember”. As I sit and think and ponder what I’m suppose to remember, I’m reminded about two things.

First, I need God’s Word more than I realize. You see, I know that God’s Word is important and given to make me wiser every day, but sometimes, more than I care to admit, I think, “I know that” and therefore I feel I don’t need to read it again. That’s when I realize I am dumber than a rock! When I admit the Word is important and yet fail to reinforce what I already know by reading it again, I just rob myself of the very thing that makes me grow wiser. How dumb is that? 

This morning I got up early…I couldn’t sleep anyway, and went out for breakfast. I thought about cooking at home, but then I knew I would turn on the news.

My habit for years has been to leave the house early, and grab a coffee and bagel, to head down to my church office. I would meet God and life was better for it. Today I have no church office living in Charlotte and often get caught up in turning on the news rather than seeking God first. 😥

You see, I tend to be a news junky, and it’s had for me “Not” to know what is going on in the world. The problem is too much information without reinforcing my faith and trust in God just makes me like all the other crazy people in the world. Can you relate? 🤓