Have A Wonderful Day!!!
Hi everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful Friday! If your week has been anything like mine, then you are ready for a little R&R and what better for some Rest and Relaxation then with God's Word. The Bible is filled with so many wonderful Truths and directions on how to live are lives! This is wonderful, but sometimes I'm afraid that we look at the Bible as only an Instruction Manual or Rule Book. I've heard many people say that the Bible is just a bunch of rules that keeps us from having fun or that they don't understand the Bible for one reason or another. How sad those two statements are. Today I would like to show you that the Bible is so much more than an Instruction Manual on How to Live. The Bible can also be and should also be a Place that we can go to when we need comforting, peace, and a Place that we can go to forget about how stressful how day has been or how bad are week has been. God didn't just give us guidelines on how to live our lives when He gave us the Bible, He also gave us His love, compassion, and strength. So many times we get into trouble or we get frustrated about something, and sadly the last place we turn to is to God and the Bible if we even turn there at all. I have often wondered why that is especially when the Bible has the best answers to our problems and the peace that we need. Let me give you a personal example. When I was in college, a boy I had gone to school with passed away in his sleep. Nobody knew why it just happened. For weeks after this happened I was so shocked and shook up that I was afraid to go to sleep at night. You may think that is crazy, but that is how I felt. Every time I would lay down to go to sleep, I would think about Josh. I even tried sleeping on the couch, counting sheep, and playing relaxing music, but nothing helped. My parents tried to tell me that I needed to sleep (which I knew of course), but even with their concerned appeals nothing seemed to help. I could not go to sleep. Finally one night while I was reading my Bible, I came across a verse in Proverbs. Proverbs 3:24 to be exact. It says "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet." I read that verse, and it this peaceful, calming feeling swept over me. I stopped reading for a few minutes and just sat there thinking about that verse. I realized that God was telling me that I can go to sleep now. There was nothing for me to worry about or be afraid of, He was there with me and would help me get a good night's sleep. That night I was finally able to go to sleep. Then the next night when I was getting ready for bed, I turned to that verse again and you know what it was still there!!! God was still telling me that I could go to sleep and He would be with me. So now whenever something is bothering me and I can't sleep, I turn to Proverbs 3:24 and I am reminded that God is with and He will give me peace so that I can sleep. That is just one example of how the Bible has calmed me and help me to relax. There are hundreds of other verses just like that one that I can turn to when I am worried, stressed, scared, sad, want to feel God's love, or whatever kind of mood I am in God has something for me in His Word to help me. And you know what? He has verses in there for you too. He is just waiting for you to spend time with Him so that He can show them to you. So what are you waiting for? Ask God to show you what He has waiting for you and you might just find that peace, comfort, solace, and relaxation that you are looking for.
Have A Wonderful Day!!!
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Happy Fourth of July everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful day with your family and friends. As you are having cook outs, shooting fireworks, or just enjoying a day off, don't forget all of those brave men and women who have fought to defend our freedoms so that we can celebrate the 4th of July. Thank you to everyone who has served our country in some way. Whether you are a service member overseas, a police officer, or fireman thank you for all that you do to protect our great country! May we never forget everyone who has fought for our country. Have a great Fourth everyone! Have A Wonderful Day!!!
So since it has been quite some time since I have posted ways to Have A Wonderful Day, I want to give you my acronym again.
Have something to look forward to Align your will with God's Value each moment Extend a helping hand Accept whatever comes your way Work hard and enjoy it Organize yourself Name your blessings one by one Daily walk with God Express gratitude to God and others Reward yourself Find someone to cheer up Use your time wisely Laugh a lot Decide to have a wonderful day Accept yourself as God made you Yield to the Holy Spirit I posted the "HAVE A" ways in previous years, and I would like to pick up where I left off which is WORK HARD AND ENJOY IT. So without any more delay, here is the next installment in "Ways to Have A Wonderful Day!" We all have different jobs and duties to perform. Some we do not mind doing, bu there are others that we dread having to do. I don't know about you, but for me there are a lot more that I dread doing than those that I don't mind having to do. I mean seriously, who really enjoys doing the laundry or washing the dishes? I know that I sure don't. I would much rather read a book or work a puzzle instead of having to do my laundry or cleaning. What about jobs outside of housework? I was looking online, and I found that only 27% of Americans actually like their jobs. That is not a lot of people if we stop and think about how many billions of people live in America. I know that I have had jobs that I did not like and wished I could quit or get of them somehow. But at the same time I have had jobs that I did like and enjoyed them. All of that being said, if we get up every morning dreading having to go to work or complaining about what we have to do today or wishing we could put have doing the laundry til another, then we are obviously not going to Have A Wonderful Day. I know I am guilty of this very thing. I wake up thinking okay it is Monday, Tuesday, etc. what is it I have to do today. I then I remember I have a dozen different things to do that day(some of which I have been putting off doing because I don't like doing them or didn't want to do them when I was supposed to them), and suddenly I am not in a mood to get out of bed. This ruins my entire day. I drag myself out of the bed and then slowly begin to get ready for the day, but the entire time I am thinking to myself "Do I really need to do that today?" or "Is there anything that can wait another day to get done?" and I have pretty much put myself in a bad mood for most of the day. So how can we avoid falling into this trap of not necessarily being lazy, but of just not liking are work and the things that we have to do? I must I admit that I am no expert at this yet, but I am still trying to work at it. One way I have found that makes grueling tasks not so unbearable is play uplifting music as you do them. I don't know about you, but if I have uplifting music playing in the background, then it helps me work better and faster. Another thing that seems to help me is to set goals for myself. For example, I am sure a lot of you just went through Spring Cleaning. Well when we think of everything that we have to do for Spring Cleaning, we can get discouraged very quickly because there is so much to do. So one way to avoid the discouragement is to set goals for yourself like on Monday I am going to clean all of the windows and wash all of the rugs in the house, on Tuesday I am going to clean out all of the kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator, on Wednesday I am going to wash all of the baseboards, vents, and walls in the house, etc. or you could do it a room at a time like Monday the living room, Tuesday the bedrooms, Wednesday the kitchen, etc instead of looking at all of the house as whole and trying to figure out how in the world am I going to get this done. Then if I completed my goal for the day, then I would give myself a little treat. Maybe a special dessert after supper or maybe just relaxing longer with a good book. You can apply this method to any task that needs done not just your housework. Like student having projects and homework assignments. Do not wait until the last minute to do them like I know so many do. If you know you have 5 assignments do the first week of May, then make goals for yourself and space out when you are going to work on the assignments and do not wait to the week before or even the night before they are do to get them done. This only leads to a ton of stress and frustration. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:23 "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;". "Do it heartily" is the phrase that I wish to focus on here (and there is nothing wrong with the rest of the verse). Now just like most words heartily has many different definitions; one of which is "with gusto and without reservation" another is "with all the heart; sincere". So we are supposed to put our whole heart into our work and work with gusto and without reservation whether we like our jobs or the task we have before us or not. This can be very hard to do, I know. But the Bible tells us to do so. I have found that if I put my whole heart into something that I usually enjoy doing it more. I know it is very difficult to put your whole heart into cleaning your bedroom, but we need to try to do so if we do not want to dread the entire job. The Bible also tells us in Ecclesiastes 9:10a "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;..." So now the Bible is telling us to work hard. Not just to work hard at things we enjoy like planning a party for your Mom or decorating for Christmas, but work hard in all that we do. Yes I know that it is easier to work harder at some things than it is others, but the Bible doesn't say we get to pick and choose the jobs that we give our best to. We are supposed to give our best to all that we do. So how can we Have A Wonderful Day? Work hard at whatever job, task, or duty you have been given and enjoy doing it. Yes it can be challenging at times, but the more we try to have a positive outlook on the things we have to do, the easier it will become to Wok Hard and Enjoy It. Have A Wonderful Day!!! Hey Everyone,
I wanted to wish you all a very Happy Easter. While you are having fun with your families and friends, hunting for Easter eggs, opening Easter baskets, or whatever your Easter traditions may be, please do not forget the true meaning of Easter: the RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST! Without the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we would have no reason to celebrate anything or for that matter to do anything. So please do not forget the true meaning of Easter. "And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. " Matthew 28:5&6 Have A Wonderful Day!!! Stephanie I want to apologize for getting this up so late. I promised that I would show what HEATHER A. won for the Christmas contest, and I meant to show you a lot sooner, but things have been hectic. So I apologize. Here is a picture of what she won! As you can see, she won a stocking full of goodies. Included in the stocking was Christmas cookies, a Christmas dish towel, Christmas necklace, Snowflake earrings, Penguin snow globe, Thin Mints, Candy Canes, The Night Before Christmas Story Collection Book, and Handmade Christmas ornaments. So congratulations once again to HEATHER A.
Have A Wonderful Day!!! Today I would like to share with you how I am doing my Bible Study this year. I have never really been one to use Bible devotional books, I usually just read my Bible and see what pops out at me. Last year, I chose a different topic for each month and studied different verses on the topic of the month; as well as my normal Bible reading schedule(which I shared with you last week). This year I felt like I needed to do more in regards to actually studying the Bible instead of just reading my Bible. I wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to go about doing this, so I began searching different Bible studies and plans and asking God which one He wanted me to use. I finally came across the H.E.A.R.T Ministry online. After much prayer, I felt like this is what I was supposed to use for my Bible studies. They have many different topics and lessons to study with free printable worksheets, and I admit it was hard for me to decide where I should begin. I finally chose the Practical Christianity lessons. Each lesson topic has 25 questions for you to answer as you study them. This is my third week using these lessons, and I have already learned quite a bit. (They are also good to use for your Church ministries.) So, if you are looking for something to use for your Bible studies, then I encourage you to check out the H.E.A.R.T Ministry. I would love to hear what you use to help you with your Bible studies, and if you do check out the H.E.A.R.T Ministry, then let me know what you think. Have A Wonderful Day!!!
Have you ever tried to read the Bible through in a year? If so, have you ever had difficulties in doing so? Well for the longest time, I was never successful in reading my Bible all the way through in a year. I would always get stuck in Leviticus, the Kings, the Chronicles, or Judges. Sometimes I would make it through those, but it would take me forever to do so, and I became discouraged. Finally I realized that it would be better for me to NOT read the Bible in order from Genesis to Revelation. That sounds bad, I know. I felt guilty at first, but then I realized that I was reading my Bible and was getting more read by not reading the Bible in order. So I learned that as long as you are reading the Bible, it doesn't really matter how you are doing so. Some people are able to read the Bible in order, and there it is great. However, if you are like I was, then I want to suggest that you find a way that works best for you. Here is what I found that works for me: I read a Psalm and a Proverb everyday, then I read a chapter in the New Testament everyday, and then I split the Old Testament up into two sections: the first section is Genesis-Job and the second section is Ecclesiastes-Malachi - I will then read at least one chapter from each of those sections everyday as well. So I read at least five chapters everyday. In order to get the entire Bible read in a year, I will read several chapters from one of the Old Testament sections at least once a week.(usually more) I have found that dividing the Bible up this way helps me to read the Bible through in a year. Now that may not work for you, but it definitely works for me. If you have a Bible reading plan that works for you, then that is wonderful and I encourage you to continue to use it. If you haven't found a plan that works for you, then try me or keep looking until you find one that does work for you. Please do not give up. Keep trying and God will show you a plan that will work for you. Next week I will share with you how I am studying my Bible this year. In the meantime, I would love to know what sort of Bible reading plan you follow. Have A Wonderful Day!!!
First of all I want to apologize for not posting the winner sooner. I had every intention of doing so, but I had to rearrange my schedule. So I am very sorry that I did not announce the winner before the end of the year. So without further ado I want to congratulate HEATHER A. as the winner of our Countdown to Christmas winner. I will get your prize to you within the week. All I ask is that you send me a picture of the prize so that I can post it on the blog. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks to everyone who participated. Have A Wonderful Day!!!
I want to wish each and every one of you a very Happy and Blessed New Year! Can you believe that 2016 is gone and 2017 is already here? The year sure did go by fast, didn't it? I hope everyone has a better 2017 than you had in 2016. With the New Year many people make goals and resolutions for themselves that they hope to accomplish throughout the year. I have made several for myself this year, and I hope that I do better at keeping my resolutions this year than I did last year. I was trying to think of things that will help me to keep my resolutions, and one of the things I thought of was making a list of everything I hope to accomplish. Now I know most of us usually do make a list of our resolutions, but if you are like me, the list gets lost or thrown away. So, I was thinking how can I keep better track of my list this year and how can I use the list to help me accomplish my goals? So here is my plan for utilizing my list this year:
1. Make out a list of goals and resolutions 2. Post this list in a couple of different places that way if I loose one I still have another one 3. Check the list at the end of every month to see how I am doing on my goals. (Hopefully this will keep me on track better and if I am slacking, then hopefully this will serve as a reminder of what I want to accomplish this year) 4. Reward myself with a treat at the end of each month that I accomplished the items on the list. 5. Don't get discouraged and give up if I am not meeting my goals. (This usually happens about June or July for me. I start the year of so well, but then summer arrives and I get out of my usual routine and everything begins to go downhill. This causes me to get frustrated with myself and I just give up on my goals. So this year, I am going to try to encourage myself more instead of beating myself up if I do not meet my goals for the month) What about you? Do you have any ideas on how to successfully accomplish your goals and New's Year's resolutions? I would love to hear what they are, so please feel free to share them in the comments below. Have A Wonderful Day!!! I trust everyone had a wonderful Christmas. My Christmas was absolutely fabulous! On Christmas Day, I gave you several Countdown to Christmas activities, but I never answered them myself. So, here are my responses for the activities on Christmas Day: Yes, I wore red and green on Christmas and what I like best about Christmas is spending time with my family and watching everyone open up their gifts. I have so much fun watching everyone open up the gifts that I gave them and watching their expressions of excitement and surprise.
Technically the Countdown to Christmas is over, but I have one more question for everyone if you would like to enter the contest one more time: What was one of your favorite gifts that you received this year? I said ONE of your favorites because I have many favorites and I cannot choose just one, so I am sure some of you may have that problem also. I received many amazing gifts this year like books, DVDs, blankets, decorations for my room, and so much more, but one of my favorite things from this year was a New York Yankees Monopoly game! I have always wanted one and my sister gave me one this Christmas! So what about you? What is one of your favorite gifts from this year? Come back later this week to find out who won the Countdown to Christmas contest and of course as always HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!! |
AuthorHi! I am the Children's Church director, Beginner Class Sunday School teacher, and play the clarinet at our church. I love to make crafts both with the kids at church and on my own at home. Archives
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