Today’s Truth
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10, NIV).
Friend to Friend
In April, I will celebrate my 61st birthday! Honestly, I didn’t think I would live this long. Seriously! Where have the years gone? It seems every day of life has been jam-packed full of both wonderful and horrible things I wondered if I would survive and yet, here I am, going strong and wondering why there always seems to be some kind of helicopter still landing in my life.
I have some advice for you, girlfriend. If you are a young woman, it really is true that you should cherish every day and every moment with your friends and family because the older you get, the quicker the days fly by. I look at my children who are married and having children of their own and wonder where all of those years went. How did this happen?
If you are an older woman, take a deep breath and celebrate the fact that you are breathing. I believe if you are alive, God has a purpose and plan for your life. Give yourself a pat on the back for your survival skills. Take a few moments to reflect on your life and don’t get hung up on what might have been. Celebrate what is and what will be.
I have discovered some wonderful advantages to growing older and have learned some valuable lessons along the way. Each chapter of life seems to grow more exciting and I keep wondering when that “slow down” thing is going to kick in. I am no longer overly concerned with a lot of things that once kept me awake at night. There is great freedom in having paid a lot of “life dues” because I have already been there, done that and don’t really care about getting the T-shirt.
I can say with authority that you probably will live through that crisis you think will be the death of you. What defines you today may very well seem ridiculous in ten years or even ten days. Stupidity will give way to wisdom learned the hard way. I now give myself permission to do or not do things I once would have felt compelled to do simply because it was someone’s ridiculous expectation … not God’s plan. My audience has certainly changed over the years from the people who love to leer at me through the glass bowl in which I live to running the race of life for an audience of One.
Yes, there are moments when I have made a frenzied and desperate attempt to stay young. But then, why would I want to do that? There are many years of my life I really do not want to revisit and there is so much of my life now that I love. During one of those youth seeking moments, I came across the following list of ways to stay young and found it quite interesting.
How to Stay Young
1. Throw out non-essential numbers such as your age, weight and height.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. If you really need a grouch, there are probably family members to fill that need.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Just never let the brain idle.
4. Enjoy the simple things. When the children are young - that is all you can afford. When they are in college that is all you can afford. When they are grown, and you are on retirement, that is all you can afford.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Laugh so much that you can be tracked in the store by your distinctive laughter.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person that is with us our entire life is ourselves.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies or whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips. Go to the mall, the next county, a foreign country - but not guilt.
10. Tell the people you love how much you love them every chance you get. Never assume they know.
11. Don’t worry about things you cannot change or do anything about. Accept them and move on.
12. Read more and dust less.
13. Spend more time with your family and friends and less time working.
14. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. Recognize these moments now and cherish them.
15. Do not “save” anything. Use your good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the next blossom of flowers you see.
16. Wear your best outfit to the market.
17. Don’t save your good perfume for only special occasions. Use it even if you are going shopping or just to the bank.
18. “Someday” and “one of these days” should vanish from your vocabulary. If something is worth seeing, hearing or doing, go and see, hear or do it now.
What about you? Are you living each day to the fullest? Jesus is all about living an abundant life in the here and now … whatever stage of life that might be for you. Jesus came so that we can live abundantly and eternally. Eternity began the moment you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.

Today is a new day… Let go of yesterday, begin today anew. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
May the LORD Visit You and Have Mercy on You

My prayer for you today is in Psalm 25, a Psalm of David:

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

I pray that the LORD will remember you and lift up your soul. I pray that the Lord will lift you out of the miry clay and set your feet on a solid Rock. I pray that you will not fail and that you will hang in there and not give up. I pray that you will put your trust in the Lord and not doubt His ability to deliver and bring you out of any dire situation. I pray that you will not be ashamed and that your enemies will not triumph over you. I pray that you will be patient and wait upon the Lord, He alone is the Almighty God and He alone is the author of our times and seasons. This season of your life shall pass and as you patiently wait on the Lord you will not be ashamed. May God remove any form of shame and condemnation of the enemy from your life and may He put all your enemies to shame. May all those who accuse you falsely be put to shame and may you laugh the last laugh in Jesus Name.

4 Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.

I pray that God’s Word in the Bible will be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. I pray that the Lord will teach you and lead you in the truth of His Word and that as the mountains surround Jerusalem, He will surround you forever with His peace, His truth and His joy. I pray that God will be the glory and the lifter up of your head and that you will not bow or stoop in shame.

6 Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

I pray that the Lord will remember you and forgive you any trespasses and that you will also forgive anyone who might have trespassed against you. May He not remember the sins of your youth, but may He remember you according to His mercy for His goodness’ sake. You are not forgotten, God never forgets His own. In fact, today is a day of remembrance for you before the Lord God Almighty. Your breakthrough is very near.

12 Who is the man that fears the Lord?
Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

I pray that you will not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways you will acknowledge the Lord and He will direct your path. I pray the Lord teach you in the way He chooses and not in the way that you have chosen. I pray that as you follow His leading that He will make you dwell in prosperity and that all your children and grandchildren shall inherit the earth and the Lord will multiply your blessings and add more joy to your household. I pray that you will not remove your eyes from the presence of the Lord and that your eyes shall be ever toward Him. May He pluck your feet out of the net or snare of the enemy in Jesus Name.

Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,
For I am desolate and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses!
18 Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
19 Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with cruel hatred.
20 Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,Out of all their troubles!

May the Lord visit you and have mercy on you, may He bring you out of all your distresses in Jesus Name.  May He look on your affliction and your pain and forgive all your sins.  May the Lord keep your soul and deliver you.  May you not be ashamed as you put all your trust in Him.  I pray that God’s integrity and uprightness will preserve you as you wait on the Lord.  May He redeem you and lift you out of all your troubles in Jesus Name.  Have hope in the Lord, be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart.
 
God bless you today and forever more for he knew you way before you were created in your mother’s womb and he still knows you now.

Dear Single Girl,
I don’t know you personally, yet, but there are a few things I want to tell you with the hope that I will get to know you some day.Actually, there are 5 things I want you to know:

1. How to get a man’s attention.
The guy that you are looking for isn’t attracted to charm as much as he is Godliness because beauty fades but Godliness GROWS (1 Peter 3:3-5). I know that the culture will tell you that guys are turned away and intimidated by girls that love Jesus and have strong values and convictions. Culture is wrong; boys may be turned away by strong convictions, but men are not. Be the woman God has called you to be, and a godly man will notice.

2. Run from “Prince Charming”.
Some girls seem to give attention to every smooth talker and cool dresser that comes their way. Please don’t do that; be patient and wait on a man who is concerned with pursuing Jesus, not another trophy. Only give the GROWING, God fearing man a chance to pursue you. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain (Prov 31:30).

3. I am just a guy, not a god.
A guy will crumble under the weight of being your god. No other person can complete you or make you happy. There are lots of great physical and emotional benefits that come from a relationship, but none of it is enough to sustain a healthy loving marriage if your faith is not in Jesus. No guy will complete you, so don’t put him on that pedestal (he will fall).

4. Don’t wait on me, pursue Jesus.
From my male perspective, there is nothing more attractive than a woman being obedient to Jesus and taking the risk to follow Jesus wherever He leads. Too many times I notice girls in the church just sitting and waiting on a man to come and rescue them from a life of boredom. When it comes time for me to pick a partner, I want somebody that can follow me on an adventure, not someone that is used to doing nothing and complaining about the fact that no one is interested in them. Pursue Jesus and I will pursue you when He gives me the green light.

5. Time is not running out.
Singleness is a gift, not a curse. You want to be beautiful? Put your hope in God and don’t give way to fear; trust his timing (1 John 4:18). Don’t waste your single years by always waiting on what is next and turning yourself into a man chaser. Let’s follow God right now and trust Him to take care of the next. God is sovereign and able to direct both of us to each other when the time is right.

Until Then,
A Single Guy