THREE GREAT PRINCIPLES TO LIVE BY

THREE GREAT PRINCIPLES TO LIVE BY

Jane told me a great story about a 98-year-old yoga teacher—the oldest in the world. She’s been teaching yoga for 58 years and at age 80 she decided she wanted to do something else as well, so she took up ballroom dancing. The woman is healthy, flexible, energetic and delightful. She said she lives by three main principles:

1.      Never be negative

2.      Don’t judge

3.      Every day say: “This is going to be the best day of my life.”

I started practicing these the first week of April. At first it was really hard, especially the last one: Every day say: “This is going to be the best day of my life.” I felt like I was being a hypocrite. My heart wasn’t into it. But I did it. Then I did it the next couple days and really amazing things happened: 1. I got to talk to my niece about spiritual things for the first time. 2. I got to pray for a friend’s mother. They thought she’d had a stroke, but it turned out to be something else and she was okay. 3. I got a new revelation about humility. Every day something happened.

On Saturday of the first week, I didn’t feel like getting up. I had some bad dreams and was feeling some dread about the day. But before I got out of bed, I made myself say: “I’m going to have a great day, the best day of my life.” Honestly I said it more out of hope than really believing it. I went on to say I wasn’t going to be negative and I wasn’t going to judge. Then I got up. That was the day I got to rescue a young German shepherd dog and return him to his very happy owners. This stuff is amazing! I did have a great day.

These three life-giving principles are documented in God’s Word. One place the first principle (Never be negative) is found, is in Romans 8:28, where it says: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” How can ALL things work together for good?

The context of this verse is talking about speaking in tongues: “making intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:27). When we speak in tongues, we can always know that we are doing a positive thing and it is always for good. We can’t speak negative about people when we are speaking in tongues, because the Spirit of God Himself is directing the words.

God may show us something that seems negative about a person but it’s not so that we start gossiping about them or bad-mouthing their actions. The reason the Lord makes us aware of bad things is so that we will pray for His intervention. And if we know how to speak in tongues, the Bible says it’s perfect prayer (Romans 8:26), so we don’t even have to know exactly what to pray for, just that we can pray and God hears and answers.

To choose to take the high road and never be negative has certainly worked for this 98-year-old yoga teacher. Since it’s one of those eternal truths from God’s Word, it will work for us as well, no matter how hard it may be at first and then also to maintain it. But we can do it.

The second principle this woman lives by is: Don’t judge. Simply put, the Lord Jesus said: “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matt. 7:1). Only God really knows the heart of a man or a woman, so we don’t need to guess and we certainly shouldn’t be judging. It takes us down the rabbit hole to a bad place. We just aren’t smart enough to know all the factors in any person’s life, so we need to let the judging stay with God. Again, this is one that takes practice, but it will help us to live a much happier and longer life.

The third principle is: Every day say: “This is going to be the best day of my life.” Psalm 118:24 says: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” This is what God says, so we need to start saying the same. God knows what He’s talking about. God is telling us we can rejoice and be glad every single day.

For most people, these three principles will take true discipline. If we really want to be disciples of the Lord, we need to start practicing these three things daily. They will first become a habit and if we continue, a true life style, the style of life that is richly fulfilling, the way God intended.

Take the challenge with me. See you at 98!

Here’s a link, if you want to see more about this oldest yoga teacher on record. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u76yQEdflVM

Love, Carolyn

Buy my first WINGS book if you haven’t read it yet. IT WILL BLESS YOU AND ME TOO!

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TRUTH IS A REASON TO CELEBRATE

TRUTH IS A REASON TO CELEBRATE

Today we celebrate a great victory. “SURPRISE, Satan! You lost.” This is the day we celebrate Jesus being raised from the dead. Many who once believed in Him, had turned away (see John 6:66); He’d been brutally beaten, nailed to a cross, pierced through with a sword, imprisoned in Hell, and worst of all, He felt that His Father God had totally abandoned Him. Many of you have been abandoned by a parent or parents, by spouses, lovers or friends. And many have felt forsaken by God. But it’s not true. And God is not like men and women—He doesn’t lie. His Word says: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.” Sometimes we may feel like we’ve been abandoned, but we are never lost with God.

God’s got our back. He says to us in Hebrews 13:5: “Let your manner of living be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have. For He hath said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’” That’s the greatest promise we could have. Even if we had nothing, we still have Him. Jesus may have even thought He lost God, but God made Him alive again in His darkest hour. And He does that for us too.

Jesus went through Hell itself, and from what I’ve seen and heard of Hell, it’s almost unfathomably horrible. (check out some of the videos on YouTube). Because Jesus has seen and felt the worst things in all life and God gave Him victory, He is able to help us with anything, small or great, that we encounter.

“For in that He Himself hath suffered, being tempted, He is able to succor those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:18). The word “succor” is translated from the Greek word which means to “help,” to “come to the aid of,” to “run to the cry of those in danger.” The dictionary adds, “to relieve and deliver from difficulty, want, or distress.”

Jesus has been through it all, so He really does have all the answers we need in any situation. His answer to a given situation isn’t always fun, but it is always right and doing the right thing sets us free.

Truth is a reason to celebrate. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Happy Easter and have a great week!

Love, Carolyn

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HAPPY EASTER

HAVE A GREAT EASTER! Here's Peanut getting ready to pack Easter baskets for his two little girl friends

HE WILL KEEP YOU SAFE

HE WILL KEEP YOU SAFE

1969. I was new in town, a hippie from the San Francisco Bay Area, and now I lived in a suburb of Chicago with my parents. I was a “love child,” “flower child” of the 60’s, which meant tank tops, long skirts and combat boots among other things. I was 19. I got a summer job as a lifeguard at the local pool and hung out after work with the other lifeguards, going to bars in nearby towns to party. It was fun. I didn’t make any permanent friends—too shy really, and not very good at socializing with new people. But I was attracted to this older guy—the “bad boy” guy who stood apart from the crowd.

This guy was different, intriguing. He liked to play pool. So a group of us went to a bar to play pool almost every night; or as it turned out, he and his male friends played pool and I watched, till the early hours of the morning. He paid attention to me and that was a lonely time in my life, so if someone paid attention to me, I was all ears, all attention, all “gaga” over him. We never had sex but still there was this attraction, this connection. Then one night I decided for some reason not to go out after work.

I got a call from one of this guy’s friends about 8 o’clock that night, telling me the guy I liked really wanted me to come meet him down in the parking lot by my work. I was totally into it and started to get ready to go out. Then I stopped. I had this niggling feeling that something was wrong.

I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the Lord giving me a warning. I figuratively felt a cement wall rise up in me. In my hippie-love attitude I had been totally ready to hop in the car and take off to town to meet him, but this odd feeling, like a cement wall encasing me, stopped me. I couldn’t go. It was weird, but I just knew I couldn’t go.

The next day, I donned my lifeguard swimsuit and off to work I went. After work, one of my coworkers pulled me aside where no one else could hear. He looked all around to make sure no one was near, then whispering, he told me the story: “I just wanted to let you know that guy showed up last night at the parking lot with a gun! He was looking for you. He was in a hurry to get out of town and head cross-country. He said he was planning to take you with him! He was really mad when you didn’t show up but he didn’t wait long till he pealed outta here.”

You can imagine the flip-flops my mind did with that! Well, there you are. I was dumb, but still the Lord took care of me and kept me safe. He kept me from showing up that night. I don’t know what would have happened had I gone, but it wasn’t going to be good. The Lord loved me when I was dumb as dirt! Ephesians says:

“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh [is working] in the children of disobedience:

“Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us [made us alive] together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Eph. 2: 1-5).

The thing is, that at the time, I was already a Christian, but I didn’t understand so many things in the Bible and I really didn’t know how to apply Bible things to my everyday life. I certainly didn’t know the Lord like I do now.  But what I learned by experience is that when we truly love the Lord, no matter how much Bible we know or don’t know, His love for us is unconditional.

I know for sure that Proverbs 29:25 is true: “Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”

And though I’ve walked through the valley of death and gotten myself into trouble many times, “I will fear no evil: for thou [Lord] art with me [always]” (Ps. 23:4).

The Lord has kept me safe (and smarter now too!) and He will do it for you. Love Him, trust Him.

Love, Carolyn

Buy my first WINGS book if you haven’t read it yet. IT WILL BLESS YOU AND ME TOO!

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RE-UNITED

RE-UNITED

When I looked up from the kitchen table, I saw the back legs and tail of a dog whoosh by the patio door opposite me. I went out to see if the wind had opened one of the gates. When I approached the second gate, I saw the face a young German shepherd peeking out from behind the tool shed. Someone had to have lifted him up and dropped him over the fence into my yard! What now? He was afraid of me, so I sat down on the lawn and started talking to him. I could see that he had a collar with a red heart tag attached, but I was going to have to get much closer to see it. Bring food and water—yep, that usually works. So I got some chicken and broke it up and some cat food and a dish of water and brought it out to him. I laid down on the grass by the bowls and he came over and began to eat. Then he let me pet him and gave me a little lick on the hand. We were instant friends.

“Rocky” had squeezed under his owners’ balcony railing and they didn’t even know he was gone until the vet called them. This little dog had travelled seven miles from his house! When the young man came into the vet’s office, he was so happy to see his dog and Rocky was so happy to see him too. He said Rocky was his mom’s dog and she would really miss him.

If I could rescue a lost puppy and reunite him with his family, how much more ability does God have to rescue His lost children?

Jesus said, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:4-7).

God is always looking for the one who is looking for Him. And it is still His goodness, manifested in us and in all the other ways He works, that brings other lost people back to Him. As it says in Romans 2:4, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”

God knows what He’s doing. He was the one who directed someone to drop that lost puppy over into my yard. God knew we would help him find his way back home. Let’s let the goodness of God in our hearts be apparent as we help lift God’s lost sheep back over the fences and into His arms.

Love, Carolyn  (picture is of Rocky, waiting to be re-united with his family)

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CONFRONTING WORRY ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN AND FRIENDS

CONFRONTING WORRY ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN AND FRIENDS

The mechanic didn’t call me right away about my “baby car” and I started to worry. I can’t even imagine how you parents are tempted to worry about your children. There’s two things that can help stop our minds from spiraling downward. First: The Word of God. It doesn’t take a lot of scriptures; it just takes the right ones. Isaiah 54:13 says: “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” What does that mean?

It means that the Lord is their teacher, whether He works through you or someone else, or circumstances or in any other way, He will do it if you can believe it. You are not their savior, Jesus is! God has entrusted them to you, but you have to pray for them, believing that the Lord is around them and with them every day to care for, guide and instruct. If I were a parent, I’d be praying this scripture every morning over my children and every night too. And the second half of the verse also: “Great shall be the peace of [my] children.” 

I also suggest Psalm 91:11-12 “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Stones are in the physical realm, so this scripture is telling us that angles are available to keep your children (and you too) from being tripped up by physical things. You can name a great number of possible stumbling blocks, such as bullies, bad friends, bad habits, bad health, etc. Angels’ jobs are to minister for you, so use their abilities like the scripture says, to keep an eye on your children and keep them from tripping up. Of course we can pray this scripture for other family members and friends too.

Lastly, this is a great verse for parents (maybe I should have listed this one first!): “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). You can say, “God I give You my anxiety today because You care about me and You can take care of the stress. Thank you so much. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

I said there were two things needed to get rid of worry. The first is to believe what God says in the scriptures and pray the ones that work for you. The second important thing is to talk to your children. And I don’t mean telling them how much you worry. That will only enforce the negative. But instead, ask them questions about what’s going on in their lives. Listen with your heart to their answers. And be bold enough to pray with them.

I didn’t pray with my mechanic, but I did pray a verse I found in the gospels about transportation and then I called him and was totally at ease. My baby truck was going to get fixed. I believe your kids will be okay too, if you pray the scriptures over them and love them. The Lord will even show us different ways to express our love, if we are listening.

When was the last time you read some of First Corinthians 13, the chapter on love? I hadn’t read it in a while, but when I did today, it really inspired and blessed me.

The Excellence of Love

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction].

And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing.

If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.

Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.

It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.

It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].

Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]” (1 Cor. 13:1-8).

Love, Carolyn

Lots of exciting Las Vegas stories – seeing behind the scenes of everyday events. Check it out in paperback or e-book from Amazon, WINGS: A Journey in Faith.

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CLEARING AWAY BURDENS

CLEARING AWAY BURDENS

I had papers from my old insurance still sitting out on my desk. In my mind, the stack was huge! This morning Jane helped me to clear my desk. I didn’t realize how much these items were weighing on me until I cleared them away. What a relief. What looked like a monstrous task, only took 30 minutes! Did you know that all physical items can have a “voice” and affect us in either a positive or negative way? Take a look at what’s around you right now. How does each item make you feel?

In removing the items from my desk this morning I got a new revelation on Isaiah 58:6. It reads: “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” Things, places and people can all be bands of wickedness for us. They can oppress us and feel like a yoke on our necks. God’s will is for us to be free. But it’s not His job to always be the one to rescue us. We have a responsibility also.

Galatians 5:1 tells us that we are to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” We can’t stand in the great liberty of Christ if we have unnecessary things pulling at our hearts and minds. God is not responsible for taking all those burdens away from us. We have been given the spirit of Christ in us, including a full set of spiritual five senses. For example, yesterday I started to eat a steak and my spiritual taste buds told me it was not good, so I told the waitress and she took care of quickly and easily. It’s our responsibility to use these to recognize when things or places or people are oppressing us or putting undue burdens on us.

I love the Old Testament prophesy of the coming Messiah, that says: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isa. 61:1).

How many crazy things around us are keeping us bound up and agitated? —our minds and emotions prisoners to things we might not be fully aware of? The impact of having something or someone around that emits negative vibes is enormous in some cases. It was like that in the Bible, when Achan took a few items that were under a curse.

When Joshua and the Israelites were coming into their promised land, they conquered the city of Jericho, but the Lord put a ban on certain items from the city. “Be careful that you don’t covet anything in it and take something that’s cursed, endangering the camp of Israel with the curse and making trouble for everyone” (Joshua 6:18).

But Achan didn’t resist the urge: “When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it” (Joshua 7:21).

Because of that, the whole tribe of Israel suffered and couldn’t seemed to make any real progress. It’s interesting here to see that the items Achan didn’t deal with properly, but instead, took and wanted to keep for himself, affected the health and welfare of his whole family and his whole tribe.

There’s another great principle to see here: Not everyone was aware of what Achan had with him. Just like we are not always aware of the things in our car or our house or in our children’s closets. God had to tell them: “There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you” (Joshua 7:13).

This principle of the Word of God is still true today. We can’t progress like we want to if we’re burdened by things, places or people that are not in God’s will for us at this time.

And it’s the spirit of God within us, that teaches us to be observant. Using our spiritual five senses, we look with our spiritual eyes, smell, listen, taste and feel what may be Achan “treasures” in our midst.

Another important thing: It was Joshua who rooted out the problem. For me it was Jane who helped me see what I needed to do with the stuff on my desk. I knew it, but the actualization needed a little spark from a good friend!

Being human, it’s easy to be a collector. We collect everything from rocks to papers, to electrical devices, to associations, etc. etc. We probably need to take inventory a little more often. It’s amazing how much junk in any category can pile up if we let it! And it burdens us, nags at us, “calls” us, begging for attention.

Let’s make sure we practice being spiritually aware of what and who is around us and clean up. No Achans allowed! Freedom is where the Lord wants us. The only burden we have is His, and Jesus promises, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:30).

Love, Carolyn

FIND More **** great… LIFE LESSONS //// in my BOOKS and BOOKLETS : http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=WINGS%20Carolyn%20molica&linkCode=ur2&tag=jmbcsds-20&linkId=XQMVLVZYNBLYAGEM