“Our relationships are being starved to death by velocity. No one has the time to listen, let alone love. Our children lay wounded on the ground, run over by our high-speed good intentions.” Richard Swenson

Do you have too much on your schedule? Is your calendar always full? Are you overrun with everything that needs to be done? Don’t get this wrong. There is nothing unhealthy about a full day, just a day without time for relationships, for reflection, even rest. A full day should include down time. Setting aside time to do nothing might be the most important something we can do for our health.

“...He rested from all his work.” Gen,2.2  “Conversations Within” ts 10/24/2019

”Every little thing’s gonna be alright.” Bob Marley

One day I sat worried about something. It was a scorching hot summer day, and there in front of me was a family of young sparrows drinking from a water spigot. Someone evidently had not turned it off tight enough and one tiny drop after another was falling into the upturned beaks of these hot and thirsty birds. As plain as any voice I have ever heard, the Spirit gently reminded me of what Jesus said about birds.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God...Do not fear, you are of more value than many sparrows.” Jesus “Conversations Within” ts 10/23/2019

Follow your heart, but only if your heart is leading you in the right direction.

When we take pleasure in God’s pleasure He will gladly grant us our own. If we can sincerely ask something from God that we know He would be pleased to give, why would we not confidently expect Him to do so. Of course, we can safely say that He will not support any desire that we have that would not please Him. He is not a parent that spoils His children but one who supports them.

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Ps.34.4 “Conversations Within” ts 10/20/2019

“The mind is its own place, and can itself make a heaven of hell and a hell of heaven.” John Milton

How powerful are our thoughts. Like fire, they can be warmly beneficial or wildly destructive. If we keep our thoughts in check they provide light and warmth to our home. But let loose and unconstrained, they can burn our house to the ground. Tend the fire of your thought life and enjoy its warmth.

“Cast down every imagination and every thought that competes with the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.2 Cor.10.5

Every story has a dragon in it, one that needs to be slain.

There is always something to conquered--be it adversity, hardship, evil, or even our own selfish tendencies. It is good for us to remember that we are at the center of all this corruption. God did not make the world this way. We did. The first dragon that needs to be slain is our own self-centered pride. We can join the fight against evil by putting to death our own.

“The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” Rev.12.9 “Conversations Within” ts 10/19/2019

Contentment is an acquired taste which is why Jesus suggested that we pray “not my will, but yours be done.”

We must often reconcile ourselves to what pleases God, instead of what would please us. There are times when I would want nothing better than to tell someone off until the Spirit reminds me that it would actually be better, if I kept my mouth shut. There is a learning curve to contentment. We first learn to be dissatisfied with our wants until we come to that place where we are satisfied with His.

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Jesus Conversations Within” ts 10/19/2019

”I don’t want to be somewhere else anymore. Not waiting for anything new to happen. Not looking around the next corner, not the next hill. Here now. That’s enough.” Shadowlands (The Movie)

I relate! This is “my kind of happy.” Eternal joy certainly awaits all who hope in God, but the joy God invites us to is now, and it would be a great loss to miss it. Wake my soul to this moment and embrace the life that He offers. Lie down in the peaceful pastures of your shepherd, rest content, and be satisfied beside His still waters. Cop a squat and give yourself fully to this moment.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” Ps.23 Conversations Within” ts 10/18/2019

“God has promised to supply all our needs. What we don’t have now we don’t need now.” Elizabeth Elliot

Contentment is a decision, one that expresses the simple faith that God knows what we need, and that He is providing all that is needed for life today. If I don’t have it this moment, I don’t need it at this moment. Now is now, and we are told to be where we are, and never worry about later. 

“Do not worry about tomorrow...You heavenly Father knows that you
need these things….” Jesus Conversations Within” ts 10/17/2019

“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Abraham Lincoln

I do not believe that God tells us to do things that we are unable to do. When Jesus tells us to be “content” He is saying that it is within our power to be so. In short, He is encouraging us to be satisfied with what Father has put on our plate this day and to be grateful for it. We have within us the power to change our focus from things we may want to what we have.

 “...be content with your wages." Jesus Conversations Within” ts 10/16/2019

The meal of contentment is to enjoy what God has already put on your plate. Take stock of your blessings.

We are taught from early childhood to say “Thank you.” It is after all, the polite thing to do. But heartfelt thanks is far more than just being polite; it is a sincere response that humbly appreciates the actions of another on our behalf. “By His hands we are fed,. Thank you God for daily bread.”

“Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal.” 1Chronicles 16:34 Conversations Within” ts 10/14/2019

“Be content, but never stop improving yourself.” Zig Ziglar

I love an adventure. When I am content, everywhere and everything becomes one. There have been times when I would go looking for some new something because I was bored. At such times I usually come back restless and unsatisfied. When I am content, the quietness inside naturally overflows into every activity, and I discover adventure in whatever I am doing. You do not have to seek adventure just open your heart and find it

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” Conversations Within” ts 10/13/2019

Plow a straight line unless a crooked one would be better. Be relevant to each situation if you want balance.

Balance is knowing when to do what--when to speak and when not to speak is a good example. How do we know when to do what? This is exactly the kind of thing that God uses to help keep us focused on walking with Him in the present moment. Don’t cross the bridge before you get to it. Trust God in this moment’ no doubt He will be there for us in the next.

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” Ecc.3.8 Conversations Within” ts 10/8/2019

“There is no such thing as work–life balance – it is all life. The balance has to be within you.” Sadhguru.

Balance in life begins with balance within. A well ordered soul creates a well ordered life. Establish your center, and like the hub of a wheel, everything else will revolve around it. Just be sure your center will create a life of lasting, even eternal value. Life is more than just this part of it.

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Col.3.2 Conversations Within” ts 10/9/2019

“Life is a balance between what we can control and what we cannot. I am learning to live between effort and surrender.” Danielle Orner

It is understandable that God would leave certain matters under our control, and rightfully expect us to act on them. Effort on our part is both needed, and expected, if certain graces are to be ours. Even so, grace is grace, and faith is the first responsibility and the very first grace God gives to us. Attend to what is under your control, and trust to God’s gracious hands those things which are not.

“Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness…” 2Pet.1.5  Conversations Within” ts 10/9/2019

“Life isn’t about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself.” Unknown

God certainly created each of us, but He also endowed us with the power to create ourselves. We are given the freedom to become. Someone rightly said, “What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.” Right thinking creates right actions, and our actions in turn create us.

“Be renewed in the spirit of your minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Eph.4.24 Conversations Within” ts 10/7/2019

“Find your center and stay there.” Barbara Ann Kipfer

Have you ever put something together in one room and afterward realized that it was too big for the door opening to be taken to another. Sometimes we build our lives around something only to realize it limits rather than liberates us. Find your center, but make sure that it will bring lasting value to your life, not keep you from being of value to others.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus Conversations Within” ts 10/6/2019

“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” Roy Disney

Underneath the surface of many of our choices there lies something of real and lasting value. Choose to address that, and all the surface stuff will fall in place. 

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Jesus Conversations Within” ts 10/5/2019

“Everything in moderation, including moderation.” Unknown

There is a significance difference when we put ourselves into what we are doing, and when we unwisely overdo it. One brings great satisfaction, the other will just do you in. Remember over playing your favorite song until you played it once too many times and got sick of it. You can overdo anything. Give whatever you are doing now your best energy, but do it in such a way that you will not burn out tomorrow.

“The fruit of the Spirit is ...moderation.” Gal.5 Conversations Within” ts 10/5/2019

”You can’t calm the storm...so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.” Timber Hawkeye

The power and skill to keep yourself centered, no matter what the circumstances, is valuable beyond measure. The first step in learning this wonderful know how, is to know what centerers your life. Christ made it clear that living for His Father’s pleasure was His center, and keeping His Father’s word provides us with clear direction on how to do so.

“I always do what pleases Him.” Jesus “You word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Ps.119 Conversations Within” ts 10/4/2019

“There is a good chance that a year from now everything you are stressing about won’t even matter.” Unknown

Perspective is good for stress management. Do what “needs” to be done, and remind yourself that even though you may prefer being somewhere else doing something else, what you are doing “has” to be done, because it “needs” to be done. The fact that it needs to be done, isn’t worth stressing about, just do it. It is often said that we should do one thing at a time, do it well and move on. It is what it is.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might. Ecc.9.10  Conversations Within” ts 10/3/2019

”If you are in a bad mood go for a walk.If you are still in a bad mood go for another walk.” Hippocrates

Chill! If your too busy to go for a walk, you’re too busy. Driven people usually wind up burning out by what’s driving them. Learn to relax, reevaluate and take some time to center yourself. Burned out people are no good to themselves or others. Exhaustion is a good sign of burnout, especially when we have grown bored with our work. 

“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Ps.131  Conversations Within” ts 10/2/2019

“The passion of one man will always outrun the intellect of a thousand others.” Craig D. Lounsbrough

People driven by passion often try to drive others. Beware of getting caught up in the wake of a driven person. Steer your own course with sober and sound judgment.  Passion can be a good thing when it is guided by wisdom. Wisdom channels passion like the banks of a river channel life giving water. Without wisdom, our passions can spill over the banks and destructively flood rather than gently nurture.

“Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.” Prov.17.24 Conversations Within” ts 10/1/2019

Better to drive than to be driven--free to make choices but not ruled by them.

It is one thing to be a person of purpose and another to be driven by a purpose. One lives with deliberation and direction and the other is driven, held captive in the backseat, and often winds up on the wrong road burned out. Rise each day as a master of what you choose to do, not as a slave to it.

“Choose this day whom you will serve…” Josh.24 Conversations Within” ts 9/30/2019

God’s faithfulness is said to surround Him because when all is gathered around Him, everything will reflect His faithfulness.

Consider all the expressions of God’s faithfulness. The sun rose this morning. I rose this morning. I rose well fed, safe and next to the one I love. As one brother puts it, “Lord give me the eyes to see exactly what it’s worth, and I will be the richest man on earth.”

“Your faithfulness also surrounds You.” Ps.89.8 NKJV Conversations Within” ts 9/26/2019

“I have no faith in my faith. My faith is in the faithful God.” Leonard Ravenhill

I cannot always count on my faithfulness but I can always count on my Father's. He keeps His word. He helps me keep mine. I appreciate the patience He has with me while I learn the ropes of trusting and doing what He says. I find great comfort knowing that despite my fickleness--my wife calls its being “wishy washy,” God faithfulness is the one constant I can always count on.

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Heb.13.5 Conversations Within” ts 9/25/2019

“When it comes to relationships, remaining faithful is never an option, it is a priority. Loyalty is everything.” Unknown

Take whatever measures are necessary to protect the health of your connections to the people you love. Your relationship with God, your marriage, your children, and your friendships are the matters that matter most. Build walls of protection around them. Insure your integrity by doing whatever is needed to insure your commitments. Never put yourself in a position that could even temp you to compromise your promises to the people you love.

"The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their double dealing." Prov.11.3 Conversations Within” ts 9/24/2019

“Faithfulness lives where love is stronger than instinct.” Paul Carvel

Humans naturally have an appetite for food, drink, sex, and a host of other things. And even though these are natural, if left unchecked, and uncontrolled, natural desires can become unhealthy and cause us a great deal of hurt and heartache. It is not always wise to follow your instincts. A mature love seeks what is good, and faithfulness keeps us from settling for less. Live under the influences of love, not the instincts of lust and desire.

“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.” Prov.3.3 Conversations Within” ts 9/23/2019