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Dayzee's Inspirational Story's

  
(Page 9 of 12: Viewing entries 81 to 90)  
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Wed Aug 12, '09 7:32am PST 
7 Ways to a Joyous Day

by Max Lucado, San Antonio, Texas


Ever have one of those bad days? You know—not kind of bad, but bad. You mess up at work. You have a terrible fight with your spouse. Your doctor calls you in for some tests that sound pretty scary. A day seemingly beyond all redemption. When you have a day like that (and let’s face it, we all do sometimes), you have several choices. You can retreat into paralyzing fear, act out inappropriately or just go into complete denial.

But there’s actually another choice: You can rejoice.

Rejoice? Why? you ask.

Because it’s the only real way out. “This is the day the Lord has made,” the psalmist tells us. “We will rejoice and be glad in it.” This day? This messy, painful, frustrating day deserves a chance? Yes. Every day, whether it includes a lost wallet, a dented bumper or the funeral of a loved one, deserves our full presence. They all come from God’s drawing room.

Still not convinced? Try these seven strategies the next time you find yourself trapped in a day that holds more than you think you can bear. You’ll be surprised at how freeing they are.

Fret Not

Anxiety will ruin your day. And it can be a real confidence-killer. I know. I get plenty of opportunities to fret: Was I too long-winded in my talk? Is my latest book any good? Do I have any business telling people how to live? The drumbeat of worry can be deafening.

I like the approach of a friend who once told me, “Well, Max, I always assume everyone likes me.”

What a crazy idea, I thought. But I decided to give it a try—not just once, but to make it a regular thought habit. I started by giving myself and my audience the benefit of the doubt: We’re all here because we’re comfortable with one another.

That habit has changed how I view the world. It’s not such a menacing place anymore.

You can’t add one more day to your life or more life to your day by fretting. Worry doesn’t take away tomorrow’s troubles; it only rids today of its strength.

And why should you worry when you are surrounded by friends wherever you go?

Forgive Freely

I forgive easily. Or so I like to think. But some years ago a Christian leader publicly criticized me without giving me a chance to defend myself. This leader was offended by something I’d said on my radio show, misinterpreting my words, I thought. He wrote an article about me, inferring untrue things. I was angry and hurt. Really hurt.

I moped for a few weeks, until I realized I was letting this man’s accusations rob me of joy. So I wrote him a letter, telling him how I felt. He never wrote back. Maybe he never got my letter. I don’t know. But what I realized was that by writing that letter, I forgave him. Forgiveness is not about saying that what a person did is okay or that they’re right. It’s about making a decision, a choice to let the hurt and anger go. It frees you up to move on. Forgive someone and you’ll discover that that person has virtually no power to hurt you anymore. Then you’ll be able to focus on what you really care about: the joy of life.

Fear Not

Heart trouble runs in my family. Mom, Dad and my older brother have all had heart problems. I was so scared about having a heart attack, I became an exercise fanatic. I’m taking care of my health, I told myself, gritting my teeth. I even trained for the grueling half-Ironman triathlon. That should fix things.

Then about a year ago my cardiologist told me that I would probably still need to have heart surgery. All those miles of jogging and skipping desserts and stressing about my health, and my heart was no better off than it was before!

I’m not saying that exercise is bad. In fact, it’s very good for you. I still run. My mistake was to think that I could run from my fears.

Fear is a joy-killer. It can make me stressed out, short-tempered, unhappy.

What’s the opposite of fear? Trust. I do better when I trust in God—and go for a short jog. He’s in control of my life.

Place your fear in God’s hands and you’ll find that you have greater peace each day.

Live Passionately

I was a senior in high school when I made one of the most important discoveries of my life—I loved to write. My English teacher assigned us to write a short story. The whole class groaned, but inwardly I thought, Yes! I wrote that first story through the night. It wasn’t very good. But it was a great effort.

And from then on in my career and in my life I’ve always looked for opportunities to write. Writing is something I do from the soul.

Discover your passions by looking back over your life for those sweet-spot moments where you’ve had ‘Yes! experiences. String those together, and you’ll begin to see new possibilities for your life.

Nothing gives the day greater joy than a good wallop of passion that comes from doing something from the soul.

Get Over It!

Sometimes I’ll have a bad day just by waking up on the proverbial wrong side of the bed. I don’t know why I’m grouchy, but I stay that way for the rest of the day.

If you look long enough and hard enough, you’ll find something to bellyache about. So quit looking!

If you have health problems like I do, you probably feel justified in complaining. Being in pain is no fun. But try this instead of griping: Take a break from your problems. Face each day determined to dwell on the positives. Think about what you have to look forward to. Write a list and put it where you can see it. Try lending an ear to someone in need. Be especially kind to people with whom you have only one encounter—a waiter, a taxi driver, a store clerk. You may have only one chance to be kind.

When you start living for others, it’s pretty hard not to get over whatever’s bothering you.

Collect Your Blessings

Recognize all that you have, and finding blessings to collect will become easy. The key to a joyous day? Make gratitude your default emotion. Say, “I can find things to be grateful for in this day.” Let your thoughts be positive. Expect good things to happen. Seek out people who can encourage you. Over time, you’ll find that God’s list of blessings is longer than your list of burdens.

Once in a race, I was running next to a 66-year-old grandma. I was about to give up, but she urged me on. “Just hang in there, you’re doing really well. Look how far you’ve come.” I ran next to her and started congratulating myself for all the miles I’d run, not the ones that were still ahead. It worked and I finished the race strong.

Color Your World

One day I was at the beach, enjoying the balmy day I had so looked forward to. The sand was soft and cool. Tufts of clouds drifted across a deep blue sky. I leaned back in my beach chair and closed my eyes. That’s when a seagull decided to use my chest as target practice. Yuck! I poured water on my shirt, trying desperately to get the stain out. And just like that, I’d lost the color of the day. Almost.

Maybe you were caught in bad traffic or your flight was cancelled or you haven’t gotten over that nagging cold. How can you see the world in vibrant color on a day like that? Many of us can’t. There I was on the beach…about to allow one errant seagull ruin my day. I moved my chair, trying to regain the magic of the morning. And then I practiced all these steps I’ve been writing (passionately) about: forgiving the bird (after all, it was only doing what came naturally), not fretting or fearing, counting my blessings (what a beautiful beach) and mostly, getting over it! No, it wasn’t too late for my day to be a joyous one.

The world is full of vibrant color. Don’t let it lose an ounce of its luster. Assume this day is going to be good, and it will. God made it so.
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Fri Aug 14, '09 6:46am PST 
August 14, 2009
. . . The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea. . . .
Psalm 8:8 (RSV)

Almost every summer we go back to the same bay in Southern California for a week of vacation. You might think it would get boring year after year, the same family, three generations now, sitting on our beach chairs, reading our books and magazines, swimming out to the buoy, paddling a kayak across the water, jogging along the ocean, biking on the boardwalk. But every year something’s a little different. The blue house down the sand might be painted yellow, or our rental will have a new rug. We’ll spot birds we haven’t seen before or see a sunset that paints the sky with a stunning shade of gold.

Last year, for instance, I was taking a lazy swim out to the buoy, floating on my back. All at once, my relatives on the beach stepped out from under the umbrella and waved. How friendly, I thought, waving back to them. They kept waving and pointing. They seem to be making a big deal out of this swim. Finally I heard them shout: “Behind you!”

I turned, thinking there might be a large boat entering the bay or a gondola passing. Instead, just five feet from me, was a sea lion staring at me, a small octopus in his mouth. My first instinct was to wonder, What are you doing here? Sea lions don’t usually come into the bay. But then it occurred to me, it probably wondered the same about me: What are you doing here?

After a few seconds it raised its head and swallowed the octopus, then plunged into the deep. As for me, I swam a little faster back to shore.

How great is Your handiwork, God.


By Rick Hamlin
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Sat Aug 15, '09 8:06am PST 
August 15, 2009
And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Hebrews 13:16 (NAS)

Last summer, on the hottest Saturday in August, I held a yard sale at my log cabin. I’d worked for weeks getting ready, and on the day of the sale, I got up at 5:00 AM to set up tables, display my merchandise and post signs throughout the neighborhood. By the time noon came, I was famished and I’d failed to plan anything for lunch.

About that time my friend Debbie stopped by to see how my sale was going. I’d met Debbie eight years before when she was my mother’s hospice nurse. From the morning she happened by, just when I was having trouble managing Mother’s pain, I noticed Debbie had a knack for knowing when her help was needed.

“I came to see what you want for lunch,” she said. “What about a salad or a sandwich? I’ll run down and pick it up for you.”

Twenty minutes later Debbie returned with a turkey-and-provolone sandwich on whole wheat and a large soda. “When I heard you were having a sale,” she said, “I thought back to the day I had mine. I wanted to do something to help you, and when I asked God about it, He seemed to say, ‘Nothing big, Debbie. Just take Roberta something to eat.’”

That refreshing lunch gave me a second wind for the afternoon. As I folded up tables after the sale in record speed, I knew that Debbie’s kindness was something I wanted to emulate. Ever since, I’ve been trying to follow her example by looking for simple ways to help others. It’s becoming a joy-filled way of living.

Lord, show me how to communicate caring in simple, loving ways.


By Roberta Messner
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Sun Aug 16, '09 7:06am PST 
August 16, 2009
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Mark 15:34 (NIV)

I hate to admit this, but earlier this summer I was not on speaking terms with God.

My saga started with a trip to the emergency room and a diagnosis of intestinal blockage, a result of scar tissue from my first cancer surgery. From that moment on, everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong. I was admitted to the hospital, but my doctor was out of town, which delayed the scheduling of my surgery.

During the endless waiting two of my children and their families canceled their summer vacations to be close by. I endured many painful medical procedures, including a tube down my throat, which meant I couldn’t eat. The long dark nights seemed the worst as I felt paralyzed in that narrow bed, hooked up to monitors and IVs.

Surely I should have felt a oneness with God through all those circumstances; that would be the spiritually mature and obedient response. But I did not. I felt totally abandoned, especially when my daughter suffered her third consecutive miscarriage right before my surgery. The ceiling of that hospital room seemed an impenetrable barrier between God and me. I simply could not pray.

After fifteen long days I finally came home on a Sunday afternoon and lay on the couch, savoring simple pleasures: hearing the sounds of family in the kitchen, preparing dinner; listening to three little granddaughters arguing over the possession of two baby dolls; licking warm buttery mashed potatoes from a spoon, the first real food I’d had in two weeks. But my favorite was crawling into my own bed that night next to my husband Lynn and pulling our lightweight down comforter up under my chin. I was finally home.

Lord, thank You for the reminder that You are my Comforter. You know me. You know about my sometimes shallow faith and my doubts. Yet You still love me, in spite of myself.


By Carol Kuykendall
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Mon Aug 17, '09 9:24am PST 
A Time to Think

Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.

—Maurice Setter
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Tue Aug 18, '09 7:11am PST 
Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
Psalm 73:24
Perhaps, today, you have a problem which has baffled you. Try allowing this text to penetrate your mind until it becomes a dominating conception, and it will do some important things for you. It will make you understand that there is an answer to every problem, and that God is thinking along with you. It will bring to bear upon your problem that keen and sharp perception of wisdom called insight. If you put every problem in God’s hands, ask Him to give you the right answer, believe that He is doing just that, and will take the guidance that comes, your decisions will turn out right.
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Wed Aug 19, '09 6:01am PST 
Finding God
============

A little boy wanted to meet God.

He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his
suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root Beer and he
started his journey

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was
sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat
down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take
a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man
looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.

He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so
pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him
a root beer.

Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there
all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up
to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he
turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug.
He gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time
later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face.
She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?
"He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother
could respond, he added, "You know what? God's got the most
beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his
home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and
he asked," Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"
He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However,
before his son responded, he added,

"You know, he's much younger than I expected."

~Author Unknown~
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Fri Aug 21, '09 9:15am PST 
The Old Man’s Steps
====================

I may be young in years, but I suddenly realized how often we
complain.

I live almost at the top of this tall steep hill. My step dad,
my brother, my dog, and I went on a walk to the bottom to a park.

On the way back up, it was harder. We complained all the way to
the top. A few days later, we were coming down the hill in our
car when I saw an old man. He was going up the hill.

He was taking small, slow steps but he was making it.

Without complaining!

Sometimes we do that to God. He'll give us a task and we
complain about it. If we take small, slow steps we will soon
make it up the tall, steep hill.

All we have to do is do the task that is in front of us and take
small, slow steps to complete it.


~A MountainWings Original by Alanah B, Kent, WA~
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Sun Aug 23, '09 8:46am PST 
August 20, 2009
When people are saying, “All is well, everything is quiet and peaceful”—then, all of a sudden, disaster will fall upon them as suddenly as a woman’s birth pains begin when her child is born. . . .
I Thessalonians 5:3 (TLB)

Living in Florida is very different from living in any other part of the country because of our vulnerability to hurricanes every June through November. Once a hurricane is spotted, even if it’s a thousand miles away, the weather reports dominate the news for days.

Unlike those who are suddenly shocked by an earthquake, flood, volcanic eruption or fire, we can at least see a hurricane coming and prepare. We fill containers with water and freeze them in case the power goes out. We buy nonperishable food, flashlights, lots of batteries, a weather radio, and if the hurricane is heading in our direction, we board up our homes and move to higher ground.

Although God hasn’t told us when, He has given all of us advance notice that we’ll have to give an account of our lives to Him. Sometimes when I do something I know I shouldn’t, like getting caught up in gossip at the pool, I can see I’m on a destructive path, take cover and redirect my energies. All I have to do is change the subject or excuse myself and go swim laps.

Lord, give me strength during the bad weather times and remind me to prepare well for life here and for life in eternity.


By Patricia Lorenz
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Mon Aug 24, '09 7:18am PST 
August 24, 2009
As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.
Psalm 87:7

It was a dreary Monday morning, sticky and overcast, a crummy way to start the week. Yet all of a sudden there he was, being swept up the escalator from Penn Station and virtually ejected onto the streets of Manhattan with the thousands of other morning commuters— men in sharp suits, women in no-nonsense heels, students shouldering bulging backpacks. And this guy, in a sequined jumpsuit, guitar slung over his back, mirrored sunglasses, carrying a conservative briefcase that could have been a lawyer’s, was going to work like anyone else braving the daily throng, except that he looked like he just came from Graceland.

I have a friend, otherwise quite conventional, who is an Elvis freak. I never have to worry about what to get her for a present; anything Elvis will do. “Everyone loves Elvis,” she says. Her mother does. So did her grandmother. Their family Christmas tree is dominated by Elvis ornaments. The children have Elvis lunch boxes. My friend even has a singing Elvis on her desk that croons and shimmies when it’s turned on (I admit, a gift from me).

I wanted to run up to the commuter Elvis and ask him what it all meant, but he was soon swallowed up by the crowds on Seventh Avenue, a man with a job to do.

God gives us everything, so He must have given us Elvis and, by extension, Elvis imitators. Certainly He’s given most of us a need for pop- culture heroes, people whose accomplishments we admire and celebrate, whose legends we somehow want to share in, if sometimes a bit obsessively. Through these icons people of all sorts connect; they derive a quirky exuberance from them. And that is a gift; that is grace.

People, Lord, are funny, but You know that. Let me always find grace, quirky and otherwise, in each of them.


By Edward Grinnan
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