Making The Best Out of Life
Kingdom Builders Newsletter
Volume 39, March 2010
I picked up one of my journals from 2001 while seeking to find inspiration for the days ahead when I found a treasure. I discovered an entry fitting for this newsletter. Hopefully, my sharing will have a refreshing affect on you as it had been for me.
"I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." Etienne Grellet
On March 5, 2003 I wrote, my life's overall theme: 1. To Love God with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength. 2. To worship God in spirit and in truth. 3. To seek the truth and to stand for the truth even if I must stand alone. 4. To see people as God sees them. 5. To be an instrument and vessel of the Lord's.
I want to see through God's eyes and hear through God's ears and for God to speak through me. I want removed far from me the disposition to see and hear things in my limited and often selfish way. To eliminate my viewpoint altogether for God's vantage point. I want the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart to be acceptable to God. I desire my words to be an encouragement to people needing a kind word and to be shown a little human mercy. My pray is to be mentally, emotionally and spiritually able and willing to lift people up in ways that will make a difference in their lives. Lord I do not want to whine or whimper. Let me continue to see sin through the eyes of God, and to acknowledge disobedience to God as sin. I purpose to never forget that no man is without sin including myself, and that I will be honest with myself when I do sin against God to repent. Lord I ask you to help me to start each day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.
As I search more entries in my journal I found other fitting quotes by unknown authors that were emailed to me in months gone by. I share three quotes, 1. "Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely. 2. "It is so important to remain positive and to give love to others without the concern for what will be given back to you. 3. "Care deeply for others as Christ cares for us. How many lives will be richly touched and changed by our passion to show the face of God to people along the way."
Kingdom Builders Newsletter
Volume 39, March 2010
I picked up one of my journals from 2001 while seeking to find inspiration for the days ahead when I found a treasure. I discovered an entry fitting for this newsletter. Hopefully, my sharing will have a refreshing affect on you as it had been for me.
"I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." Etienne Grellet
On March 5, 2003 I wrote, my life's overall theme: 1. To Love God with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength. 2. To worship God in spirit and in truth. 3. To seek the truth and to stand for the truth even if I must stand alone. 4. To see people as God sees them. 5. To be an instrument and vessel of the Lord's.
I want to see through God's eyes and hear through God's ears and for God to speak through me. I want removed far from me the disposition to see and hear things in my limited and often selfish way. To eliminate my viewpoint altogether for God's vantage point. I want the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart to be acceptable to God. I desire my words to be an encouragement to people needing a kind word and to be shown a little human mercy. My pray is to be mentally, emotionally and spiritually able and willing to lift people up in ways that will make a difference in their lives. Lord I do not want to whine or whimper. Let me continue to see sin through the eyes of God, and to acknowledge disobedience to God as sin. I purpose to never forget that no man is without sin including myself, and that I will be honest with myself when I do sin against God to repent. Lord I ask you to help me to start each day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.
As I search more entries in my journal I found other fitting quotes by unknown authors that were emailed to me in months gone by. I share three quotes, 1. "Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely. 2. "It is so important to remain positive and to give love to others without the concern for what will be given back to you. 3. "Care deeply for others as Christ cares for us. How many lives will be richly touched and changed by our passion to show the face of God to people along the way."
Voices From Prison
Some years back I had the honor of going into the jails to encourage women and men in their pursuit of happiness. There is one thing for sure when you have that kind of ministry you can't go in with preconceived ideas if you truly want to help those who are on the road to nowhere. There are people who walk among us in our communities who are imprisoned. And unfortunately they meet people along the way who judge them and have absolutely no level of compassion. I have meet both kinds of people those imprisoned by bars and those imprisoned by life's circumstances. There was never a time that I did not see a life with the potential to come out of the darkness.
The following are some of the letters I received in 2007 from those in the jails and prisons in Texas:
"I have thought of getting high right when I get out to hid from the world...then this word pops in my head, faith. I have no faith in God, I let all my feelings control my thoughts! I had to fall on my knees and cry out to God ask God to forgive me. " Wendy
"I really thank you for writing me and encouraging my spirit it sometime is so hard to walk cause the devil can't stand it that he can't have me anymore." Renesia
"I am 8 1/2 months pregnant and need help." Anna
This next young lady I was blessed to travel 4 1/2 hours to the prison she was in to take her two children that had not seen her for two years she writes of the visit, "I'm so blessed and doing so much better after the wonderful surprise that God allowed me to experience with visiting with you and my kids. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I never expected to see them (my kids)...after your van broke down I literally gave up on getting a visit. But, once again, God showed up..." Joy
"Have you ever felt trapped and alone, and like nobody in the world loves you? Well that's how I've felt my entire life 34 1/2 years of misery. I can't get my life right with God, because I don't know how to truly surrender and because a lot of things that I need to let go of either I don't want to, or I don't know how to." Cat
In this time we are living in, when the focus is on the things that hinder how we think of people, we seldom hear the language of love that produces healing in the lives of others. I often think about the men and women I met behind the bars, but I also think of the families that live among us who are suffering in silence while God's people remain in silence and in judgment. One of my favorite quotes is by Max Lucado, "Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one page of a book, can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase, can you understand the entire phrase? Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment!"
One act of kindness goes a long way and in our world today kindness is very much needed. One act of kindness can cause a ripple effect that will spread to have lasting affects on generations.
Some years back I had the honor of going into the jails to encourage women and men in their pursuit of happiness. There is one thing for sure when you have that kind of ministry you can't go in with preconceived ideas if you truly want to help those who are on the road to nowhere. There are people who walk among us in our communities who are imprisoned. And unfortunately they meet people along the way who judge them and have absolutely no level of compassion. I have meet both kinds of people those imprisoned by bars and those imprisoned by life's circumstances. There was never a time that I did not see a life with the potential to come out of the darkness.
The following are some of the letters I received in 2007 from those in the jails and prisons in Texas:
"I have thought of getting high right when I get out to hid from the world...then this word pops in my head, faith. I have no faith in God, I let all my feelings control my thoughts! I had to fall on my knees and cry out to God ask God to forgive me. " Wendy
"I really thank you for writing me and encouraging my spirit it sometime is so hard to walk cause the devil can't stand it that he can't have me anymore." Renesia
"I am 8 1/2 months pregnant and need help." Anna
This next young lady I was blessed to travel 4 1/2 hours to the prison she was in to take her two children that had not seen her for two years she writes of the visit, "I'm so blessed and doing so much better after the wonderful surprise that God allowed me to experience with visiting with you and my kids. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I never expected to see them (my kids)...after your van broke down I literally gave up on getting a visit. But, once again, God showed up..." Joy
"Have you ever felt trapped and alone, and like nobody in the world loves you? Well that's how I've felt my entire life 34 1/2 years of misery. I can't get my life right with God, because I don't know how to truly surrender and because a lot of things that I need to let go of either I don't want to, or I don't know how to." Cat
In this time we are living in, when the focus is on the things that hinder how we think of people, we seldom hear the language of love that produces healing in the lives of others. I often think about the men and women I met behind the bars, but I also think of the families that live among us who are suffering in silence while God's people remain in silence and in judgment. One of my favorite quotes is by Max Lucado, "Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one page of a book, can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase, can you understand the entire phrase? Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment!"
One act of kindness goes a long way and in our world today kindness is very much needed. One act of kindness can cause a ripple effect that will spread to have lasting affects on generations.
Scripture Reading
Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 25: 31 - 46; Ephesians Chapter 5
John 4: 7-8
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
One Act of Kindness
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