ImNoBetterThanU

In her outstanding book, "Choose the Happiness Habit", Pam Golden writes: "Take the story of two brothers who are twins. One grows up to be an alcoholic bum. The other becomes an extremely successful businessman. When the alcoholic is asked why he became a drunk, he replies, "My father was a drunk." When the successful businessman is asked why he became successful, he says, "My father was a drunk." Same background. Same upbringing. Very different choices." The brothers chose different thoughts about the identical experience. Those thoughts over the years shaped the circumstances they now find themselves in. There was a time in my life when I chose to think about challenges and obstacles as just more of the "bad luck" I seemed to attract. Ever hear the expression "when it rains, it pours?" That was my constant mantra when others asked me how things were going. So what do you think I got more of? If you answered "RAIN,"

The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember... Noah was a drunk Abraham was too old Isaac was a daydreamer Jacob was a liar Leah was ugly Joseph was abused Moses had a stuttering problem Gideon was afraid Samson had long hair and was a womanizer Jeremiah and Timothy were too young David had an affair and was a murderer Elijah was suicidal Isaiah preached naked Jonah ran from God Naomi was a widow Job went bankrupt Peter denied Christ The Disciples fell asleep while praying Martha worried about everything The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once Zaccheus was too small Paul was too religious Timothy had an ulcer..AND Lazarus was dead! And Don't forget Jesus Helped them all!!!! God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the Messenger. And one more thing...God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

letter. That is what I handed in to work today. Yes the opportunity I accepted less than two months ago....yeah that is the one. More to come later.

DEAR GOD: I want to thank You for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking you right now.. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears ; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am going to t hank you right now. I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed;

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, 'Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?' I laughed and enthusiastically responded, 'Of course you may!' and she gave me a giant squeeze. 'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?' I asked. She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids...' 'No seriously,' I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. 'I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. W

I know that many of you continue to believe that doing a little bit on your end does not make a difference on a larger scale. Well, I am here to tell you, it is this way of thinking in our (American) society that is keeping us from making a positive impact at the high levels we are capable of in this nation. I think this mya help some of you stuck in this archaic way of thinking. Visit CarbonRally.com this site makes, making a difference fun, challenging, and turns it into a game. I love their motto as well which is "Small Actions. Big impact." Anyway, go check it out and begin doing your part to make a difference. Thank you.

You've Experienced 76% of Life You have all of the life experience that most adults will ever get. And unless you're already in your 40s, you're probably wise beyond your years. How Much Life Experience Do You Have?

I have worked where this occurs before; but this takes the cake....lol

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34)

I sincerely believe that I have reached my apogee in life and can worry less about my future. Of course there will be plenty of disasters, road blocks, speed bumps, flat tires, etc. all along the way but I have truly pulled myself together enough to feel that I am now heading in the right direction. I mean they say we go full circle right? Ashes to ashes; dust to dust. So it seems logical to have an analogy of life as an orbit. At least to me it does. That is really all I have for now; I realize it was vague and possibly meaningless to some of you but it is where I am right now. With that all being said I by no means feel I am now on easy street. I have a job I do not like, I am in my 30's living with my mother, and college (among other things) has provided me with an immense amount of debt. But now that I am past the apogee things are looking bright.

that I have not been doing much here as of late. For that I apologize my life is a bit overwhelming right now. Things should slow back down very soon and allow me to better maintain my blog. In the mean time why not be a part of history ?

I do not feel so well.

Dear Lord, The Book of James (chapter 3) tells me all about the tongue. It's such a little member of the body, but it can do so much harm. We can speak words that bless You and words that curse man who is made in Your image. A few words can uplift, encourage, and do positive things in a person's life and a few words can also put down, discourage, and ruin a person's life. Please forgive me of allowing any words to leave my mouth that would harm others and dishonor You. I pray that my words will be honest and positive; that they will inspire and challenge others to greatness. Show me who You want me to encourage through my words today. Please help me to affirm someone close to me today, that they will be blessed and You will be glorified. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude , to me, is more important that the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We can not change our past...we can not change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our Attitudes. *Disclaimer: I am not the original author of this. However, I do not know who was so I can not provide a citation.*

A man that was "big game" hunting in an unfamiliar land, was crouched low, waiting for his prized moment to shoot. He heard a 'rustling' behind him. He looked, but saw nothing so he resumed his position, waiting. He heard it again. As he looked in another angle, he noticed the commotion was coming from a tree very near him. He spied a large snake slowly making its way to a nest, high up in a tree. The mama bird was frantically fluttering her wings while chirping, trying to 'scare' the snake away. Not working, and seeing it was too close to her, she left her nest. The hunter sat there, watching, knowing the sure outcome of these little birds, when he noticed the mama bird making a quick dash back to her nest. She was holding a red leaf in her beak, she dropped it atop her nest, and flew away to a nearby branch, watching. The hunter thought on this action that this little creature took, so puzzled by it, he thought, surely the bird was maybe trying to "hide

Dear God, Please give me a vision for what You want to do through me, for the role You want me to have in the local ministry of my church, and for the ministry You want to work through me in daily life. Please help me to keep my eyes upon You, not upon other people, things, or circumstances. May Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name, amen.

for what you ask? Too bad. I can say this... It is something I was recently hunting for. Funny how life works sometimes. I have evolved and grown so much since moving back to Texas that it has truly been an amazing journey and I am sure will continue to be just that. If the last three months are indicative at all as to how the rest of 2008 will be then I will have a great year! Have I hit speed bumps and come across pit falls? Of course. But that is all just part of life. The key is how you react to those "disasters" (if you will). Better yet we should all be acting upon other situations rather than allowing ourselves to fall in to the trap of always reacting. It is important that we keep a positive attitude and not allow difficulties to get us down. Something I have been struggling with the last two days. I am simply doing all I can to be proactive in changing the things in my life that I do not like and acting in a manner that will allow for positive change.