FIRST STEP TO THE FINAL DESTINATION

FIRST STEP TO A FINAL DESTINATION

Do you ever feel like you’re being pushed into something bigger than you’re ready for? This week, I realized how much the Lord is involved in the painting I’m currently working on. He keeps giving me directions that make more work for me! I think I’ve had to change one particular section of the background at least five times, and yesterday, he showed me another change I have to make in that section, too. Since I was getting a bit frustrated, he explained to me why I needed to make the change. Of course, when I thought about it, he was perfectly right, and I saw how much better the painting would be because of that change.

 

There have been many changes in other sections of the painting, too. At one point, he told me to go out and get the folder that contains several cloud photos I’ve taken over the years. And another time, he told me to go out to the garage and grab a couple of books I have of paintings by N. C. Wyeth, who painted dramatic scenes that included clouds. I have to admit I didn’t really want to do all the extra research; I’ve already done tons of research, and I just wanted to paint! But yesterday, I realized that I don’t have to be in a hurry. The Lord is teaching me detail by detail, and I really like that, and I’m listening. The painting is a little daunting and honestly exceeds my skill level, but I was inspired to do it, so I’m going ahead with it.

 

There’s always a first step to a final destination, even if we don’t know what the destination is.

 

I just watched SOUND OF FREEDOM last night again—got it from the library since Jane didn’t get to see it in the theater. My favorite line in the movie was when Vampiro told Tim Ballard, “When God tells you what to do, you cannot hesitate.” I didn’t intend to start this detailed, and difficult painting, but when God pushes, you can’t say no. And did you know that Jesus faced the same thing? John 1 and 2 tell us the story.

 

Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist, marking the beginning of his ministry. John said of him: “ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me cometh a man which is preferred before me’. . . And John bare record, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. . . And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God’” (John 1:30, 32, 34).  

 

John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming of Christ, and when John baptized Jesus, he told his followers to start following Jesus. They did, and they got others to follow him, too, and Jesus began to teach them.

 

“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there” (John 2:1).

 

So what did Jesus’ mother do? She invited Jesus and his new disciples to the wedding. When they got there, they wanted to join the celebration, and they wanted a glass of wine.

 

“And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, ‘They have no wine’” (v. 3). They all knew that Jesus had been proclaimed as the Christ, the promised one who would save the world, and mom was no exception. She expected her son to find a solution to the wine problem, and she pushed him.

 

But, like us, Jesus wasn’t so happy about being pushed. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus went through every thought and emotion we go through, including being annoyed when we feel pushed to do something we may not feel ready for!

 

So Jesus basically told Mom to back off. “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come’” (v. 4). He was saying something like, “Hold on a doggone minute! I just got baptized the other day, or did you forget? I’m not quite ready for this stuff yet!” But his mother knew who he was, and she trusted whatever decision he would make.

 

“His mother saith unto the servants, ‘Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it’” (v. 5). Jesus’ mother was wise—she was a thinker. When it came to her son, she absolutely knew what God said about who her child was going to be. Remember in Luke 2 when Jesus was born, and the shepherds came and corroborated what the angel had told Mary about birthing the Messiah, “Christ the Lord.”

 

“And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:18-19).

 

So when Jesus was baptized into his ministry, she gave him a little shove, but left the decision totally up to him. And what did he do? He tapped into the spirit of God within him and took the first step, and immediately he was on the fast track to his destiny. Jesus did his first public miracle and made water into wine and it was the best wine they ever tasted!

 

When we feel like we’re being pushed a little too hard or a little too fast into something we feel we may not be ready for, if we’re pretty sure it’s of God, let’s not fight it, but just say, “Okay, let’s do this”. After all, we only have to take one step at a time and Jesus is always there, and our guardian angels too, to help and guide us to our final destinations. No matter how old or young you are, it’s a great journey!

 

Love, Carolyn

 

Great life lessons from the Bible: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=books+by+Carolyn+Molica&crid=1KYTIP7EKZP5M&sprefix=books+by+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C126&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

 

 

BEING FLEXIBLE FOR OUR LORD

BEING FLEXIBLE FOR OUR LORD

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about being mentally flexible. My best friend, Jane, used to do my promotional work, and I call her a river. Every time Facebook blocked her from going one way, she believed for the Lord to show her a different way around and He did. Our dance with disappointment was brief. We believe “God will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Isa. 43:19). And He always does. That’s why we know we need to be open to the Holy Spirit guiding us in a different direction if necessary.

 

When we feel that we’re on the right track and it’s God’s will, nothing can stop us, but we may have to be a little flexible in our ideas about how it happens. We can’t be making all kinds of our own rules about how we think we should always be doing things, or always be thinking. We need to open our hearts to God and let Him direct our steps.

 

Proverbs 16:9 says: “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” In other words, we can get to know what’s really in our hearts, what we truly want, but only the Lord can help us get there. If we try to direct our ways, without asking for the Lord’s guidance, it’s not going to work out as well. The Lord knows the end from the beginning, and we don’t. Jesus Christ is the leader; we follow. He is very concerned about each individual’s path.

 

When we make too many rules for ourselves, we can become too brittle and we break. When something new comes up, we halt and get mad or scared or both. We get even more determined to defend our firm beliefs instead of being willing to look at something in a new way. Instead of staying tender-hearted toward God, we get hard-hearted and refuse to budge.

 

That’s what happened to the Pharisees. They knew it was God’s will to heal people, but they also knew that the Law of Moses said they weren’t supposed to do any work on the Sabbath. They became overbearingly inflexible about not working on the Sabbath to the point that when Jesus went to heal a man on the Sabbath, they couldn’t take it. They were not going to be flexible about their rules, even when it came to someone who desperately needed help. They wouldn’t even listen to Jesus:

 

“And he [Jesus] entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, ‘Stand forth.’

 

“And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness [blindness] of their hearts, he saith unto the man, ‘Stretch forth thine hand.’ And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.  But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea” (Mark 3:1-7).

 

I know none of us would want to be as rigid and ridiculous as the Pharisees. We don’t want to lose sight of the bigger picture. When obstacles come up against the traditions and rules we’ve set up, we want to let the Holy Spirit take us around some new bends in the stream and teach us some new things. It may be more thrilling and more satisfying than we ever imagined.

 

Let’s keep our hearts tender and flexible, open to Lord’s leading, even if it means going in a slightly different direction or considering something we haven’t taken into account before. Let the Lord open new doors. The Bible tells us there will always be things for us to discover if we’re willing. We never know it all, and that’s a good thing.

 

Life is to be a flow, not a stagnant pool. And God delights in being our father, teaching us new things. He wants us to be thankful to Him for the new things we learn. Just like any father wants his child to look up to him and appreciate what he teaches. God wants the same from us. God will always know more than we do, so we need to be humble and flexible in our thinking.

 

Isaiah speaks God’s message to the people of Israel: “I have shown thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.”

 

Let’s keep moving forward as children of a loving father, God, without fear. He will continue to teach those of us who are willing to be flexible. He’ll guide us, take care of us, and show us new things.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

QUESTIONS AND EASY CHALLENGES

1. Have you ever gotten stiff from standing, sitting, or sleeping in one position for a long time? Describe it. What action did you take to alleviate the stiffness?

2. Describe a situation where you had to be more flexible than you maybe wanted to be.

3. Have you been in a situation where you believed something was right and much later found out it wasn’t? Describe it.

4. Recall a circumstance where you or someone you know remained rigid like the Pharisees on some rule that was kind of foolish.

5. How have you been flexible in the past month?

6. Are you exploring anything new in the Bible at the moment? Or anything new in life in general? What are you learning?

7. Have you ever put unreasonably rigid rules on yourself? How did it make you feel? What did you do about it?

 

 

This revised PREACH LETTER is from a sample book with 6 of the 61 chapters from my first book: WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH Volume 1. The chapters are true life stories about the tremendous and varied benefits you can receive from making a commitment to the Lord. There are pertinent questions at the end of each inspiring story to help you see where you can apply what you've learned for a more exciting and satisfying life.

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THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

I was up on the ladder with my camera in my hands, ready to photograph the rocks I painted; I heard a big crack of thunder and then the lights went out.

 

The warehouse had enough natural light for me to see to get off the ladder and go over to check the breakers, but not enough light to get an accurate picture of the rocks to send my boss.

 

It reminded me of how Jesus is the light of the world; without Him we’ll never get an accurate picture of anything that’s going on, just smoke and mirrors. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth [is following] me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’” (John 8:12). Light dispels darkness, “For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness” (2 Sam 22:29). What a great promise. We can repeat this scripture to ourselves until we believe it and expect the Lord to shed light on any dark areas in our lives.

 

The lights in the warehouse came back on slowly. Sometimes it’s that way with things for us too—we want to understand; we need more light from Jesus on the subject; we pray about it and the truth comes to us slowly, a little at a time. At other times Jesus illuminates our circumstances like a flood light and everything becomes clear.

 

Lord, bring on the light in our relationships, our finances, our ability to follow You, our understanding of current events and end time events, our part in politics and community, and our many small or big choices in everyday life.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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DISAPPOINTMENT OR DECISION

DISAPPOINTMENT OR DECISION

Many of you know that I was very passionate about the midterm election in 2022. Well, it turned out that except in the case of a few judges, I was not with the majority on my voting. And every issue I voted down, the majority voted to pass through. So, what do I do? Pout? Get mad? Give up? Well maybe a little pouting, and some disappointment, but I definitely won’t give up. I truly believe God has this handled. So many times I’ve seen that God’s ultimate plan was, and still is much more far-reaching than my eyes could see. So, I trust and let Him do His job, and I get busy with His next assignment for me.

 

I’m getting better at being able to move ahead past disappointments. I can’t let discouragement get a toe-hold. It’s not healthy for my body or my soul.

 

God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Is. 55:8). Sometimes God lets us know His thoughts and His ways before a thing happens, but sometimes we don’t catch the understanding until a time afterward. It’s necessary to rely totally on faith and trust in Him. And He promises us that He always has our best in mind.

 

I learned a long time ago that the loss of anything or anyone requires a period of grieving, even if it is a very short time, we have to take an honest look at the loss and deal with it.

 

Grieving is a universal phenomenon. There’s plenty of studies on sorrow and grief, but there’s still much to be learned about how it works, how long it takes, and the effects it has. The one thing we do know is that it’s a process and it varies with situations and people.

 

We can see from the Bible different examples of the grieving process. Signs included tearing one’s robe, demonstrative weeping, putting dust and ashes into their hair, and/or shaving their hair or their beard. Other indications of sorrow included wearing black clothing, removing all jewelry, neglecting personal hygiene, and/or wearing sackcloth. Sackcloth was made of goat or camel hair and was coarse and very uncomfortable. The idea was to mourn life itself.

 

These were things that exhibited in ancient times, but the grieving process hasn’t really changed much over the years. Just one example I can think of is female friends who’ve done something to change the style or color of their hair after a divorce. I don’t know if it’s even a conscious decision or just part of the inward, inherent grief reaction. Many get depressed, angry or just want to isolate themselves from everyone, when they’ve lost something or someone.

 

In the Bible, the days of mourning varied. In the case of Jacob, it was 70 days (Gen. 50:3). In Saul’s case, only seven days (1 Sam. 31:13). In Moses’ time, the official period of grief was 30 days.

 

When Moses died, and the allowable 30 days was over, God told Joshua it was time for him to get up and get going. I think that a lot of times we need someone with insight to help us get going too, to wake us up out of our grief and get us to move on before the sorrow destroys us or makes us morose.

 

I know I needed a push when my dog Spike passed away. I was so sad I couldn’t see getting a new dog and had convinced myself that I couldn’t get one because of the cat. My friend Miki kept pestering me with pictures of rescue dogs that needed homes, and I kept pushing the idea away. Then my best friend Jane rescued a dog from the alley. We made two failed attempts at giving him away and finally got the message: “Keep the dog!” My time of grief was supposed to be over, and God was working through insightful people and a little lost dog, forcing me to move on.

 

When God pushed Joshua, it was a new thing for him. Moses was gone, and now he had the responsibility to lead God’s people. I’m sure it was a little intimidating. Any time we’re forced to embrace something new, after losing something or someone we loved, it’s hard. But we don’t have to do it alone. God told Joshua: “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9).

 

When we lose our loved ones, or if we lose our homes, our jobs, or anything else, it’s okay to grieve those things. It’s good to recognize and face the loss head-on, then realize the loss has opened up an opportunity to seek and trust the Lord for what will be next.

 

In Isaiah 48:6 God promises He will show us new things, hidden things that we’ve never known before. “I have shown thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.”

 

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Isa. 43:19). God will show us that there’s more good to come, so I’m ready and willing to believe and see.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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OH SO CLOSE

OH SO CLOSE

The included picture is entitled “Three-feet-from-Gold.” How many times have we seen ourselves or others quit just before achieving the success we were after? Too many times we are tempted to give up on something we really wanted. But isn’t that part of the devil’s plan? John 10:10 tells us specifically: “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I [Jesus] came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows] (John 10:10 AMP}.

 

The devil is a personal enemy who wants to steal, kill, or destroy any benefit God plans to give us. I found that out when I was getting to retire from the painters’ union. I knew I would have to do my part to get what I was owed, and they didn’t make it easy! I was on the phone for over an hour with an agent from the pension plan. I needed some paperwork that was delayed because of the coronavirus. The agent was super helpful, and after several tries, she got the packet sent in an attachment that I could download and print. I thought I was finished, but as I read the paperwork, I couldn’t find anything about the extra amount I was promised from working extra years beyond the normal age for retirement. I was bothered, but since I was exhausted, I wanted to wait until the next day to call back.

 

Jane could see that I wanted to quit, but she also knew I wouldn’t be able to let it go. I would be worried, irritated, and grumpy, and probably wouldn’t sleep well either thinking about it. And besides that, I couldn’t be assured of getting the same agent who had taken the time to help me, so Jane urged me to call them back right away. I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to quit, but I knew she was right, so I called, and in a matter of a few minutes, everything worked out great. What helped me to get to the prize? The words of a friend and bad experiences in the past from giving up too soon.

 

I found an interesting article about how and why people want to quit things right before success. The author talks about how culture has changed over the centuries, but our brains have not.

 

“Why we quit (often right at the tipping point of success)” by Jay Parekh

 

“Success doesn’t suddenly come barreling down on you all at once. Though it does tend to sneak up on you, without you noticing, if you’re putting in the work everyday.

 

That is exactly the hard part, because our brains tend to overestimate immediate rewards and underestimate rewards in the future.

 

Why is this?

 

Imagine the world when man first emerged. In this world dominated by predator and prey dynamics, man’s priority was the present moment. The hunter gatherer lifestyle fared much better when immediate rewards such as shelter, food, and sex were given priority.

 

Fast forward to our modern world, and most of our day to day activities are geared towards long term rewards. For example, we work at our jobs to get a paycheck at the end of the pay period, we exercise today so we can look better in the future, we invest today to prepare for retirement.”

 

Though we live in a world where actions that benefit us long term turn out to be more valuable than those that benefit us immediately (usually), our outdated brains still view the world as it always has.

 

The author goes on to say that because our brains tend to want the instant gratification still, the only way to do something about it is to re-train our brains. That’s what the Bible teaches us too.

 

When Moses died, Joshua had to lead the people of God. In the very first battle, God taught Joshua about the benefits of pushing all the way through to the end.

 

God told him how to take down Jericho and get what God intended for him and his people to have. But the way God told him to take the city was grueling. He and his whole army and all the men, women, and children too, had to march around the city for seven days, around and around, not saying a word, and then on the seventh day they had to march around seven times and then blow the trumpets and shout.

 

Don’t you think those people got tired going around and around for seven straight days? Just think of how their feet felt, for one thing. They had to get up at dawn every day too. The children probably were rowdy, and they were instructed not to say anything, so you can imagine what it must have been like for those poor parents. So many aches and pains. And never mind that it seemed like a pretty silly way to capture a whole city, right?

 

But Joshua led the people in God’s ways, and the people followed. They all pushed themselves to the very end, without quitting.

 

“And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

 

“And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, ‘Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.’

 

“So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city” (Josh. 6:15-16,20).

 

When we get to the place where we feel like quitting on something we really want, and we’re pretty sure it’s the Lord’s will, let’s get determined, maybe get a trusted friend to honestly advise, then kick into high gear and make that extra effort to get to the end. God’s rewards are always worth it.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

 

LISTENING TO GOD ABOUT NIGHT SEEDS

LISTENING TO GOD ABOUT “NIGHT SEEDS”

A few days ago, the Lord reminded me about planting “night seeds.” I heard Him say it very clearly, but did I immediately put it into practice? No, and the days following have not been so good--frustrating to tell the truth. I’ve learned that if the Lord gives you an instruction and you ignore it, well, He’s not likely to give you something new until you follow through on the last thing He said. The thing is, when He reminded me, I remembered how great night seeds worked, but I didn’t take it as an instruction that I needed to do that very night, and when the idea came to mind, I took it as more of a fleeting thought than an actual “do it tonight” kind of thing.

 

But we need to be more sensitive to the subtlety of the Lord. He’s not always going to be yelling at us or speaking loudly. I missed it, and the result was kind of awful. So, I repented. I’m so sorry I didn’t pay attention. I know God loves me and I want to hear every little thing He says! It’s always going to be for my good. This incident reminds me a time when God wanted to talk with Elijah.

 

And angel told Elijah: “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire, a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12).

 

God spoke to Elijah in “a still small voice.” And when Elijah heard it, he was humbled. God was showing him that He (God) didn’t have to always roar, but that He could be quiet and gentle as well. Elijah heard it and responded. In humility “he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering of the cave” (v. 13). Elijah was ready to listen to God without all the fanfare of wind, fire, and earthquakes. We need to become more aware of God’s still small voice like Elijah did. We need to pay attention to those odd-ball thoughts that just seem to pop into our minds periodically, not seeming to connect to much else that we were thinking about.

 

When I sat down to my computer this morning, I was still in a grumpy, frustrated state of mind, so I asked the Lord what to do about my Preach letter today, what did He want me to send out to His people? He said very clearly: “This one is for YOU!” So, then He directed me to go to some of the Preach letters I’d written in 2019, and when I came to the one on “night seeds,” I remembered the incident a few days ago when that concept popped into my mind and I pretty quickly dismissed it. Well, when I came to that Preach letter in the 2019 group of letters, I knew I had to read it and do it. And then the Lord wanted me to write about what led up to me putting it out today. You can be assured that I will be planting those “night seeds” tonight! It’s God’s will and His blessing and I’m not going to miss it! I hope you’ll plant some night seeds tonight too, and remember to listen better for His still small voice. Here’s the article on night seeds:

 

NIGHT SEEDS

“Behold, He [God] who keeps Israel [and us] shall neither slumber nor sleep.” God is Spirit, and He doesn't sleep. We, as Spiritual beings, don't sleep either, but it's our body and soul that do need the sleep while we're here on earth. If we sleep three hours out of 24, it's an eighth of our day. If we sleep eight hours, that’s a third of our day taken up! How can we make those sleeping hours count spiritually? One way is to plant night seeds.

 

Night seeds: The thing that is so amazing and awesome is that Spiritual faith can work through the night, uninhibited by our doubtful, fearful, and oh-so-rational minds! Things are working in our unconscious, spiritual hearts, freely.

 

The two following sections of scripture are vital to me in getting great results from planting night seeds:

 

Jesus taught this: Mark 4:26-27: “And he said, ‘So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.” Notice that Jesus said the man planted the seed, then he immediately went to sleep! I just love that.

 

If we plant seeds right before we go to sleep, no rationale or emotional reaction can get in the way to block our faith! Who we are spiritually as sons and daughters of God Almighty, and our relationship with His son Jesus goes ahead to work while our bodies and souls take a rest, and the solutions come as the seeds sprout.

 

Then the second vital verse is Psalm 17:15: “I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.” I looked up the Hebrew word for “likeness” so that I could better understand this verse. It is “temuwnah,” and in this context, it means “what You [God] have fashioned,” what You [God] have formed,” “the manifestation of Your favor.”

 

So this verse is saying that when I wake up, I can feel blessed by what the Lord did in the night. He works with our seed and helps it to get sprouting.

 

I’d learned this principle a while back and forgot about it until I was scrolling through some old Preach letters and decided this was a great principle to start using again. Here are some results from when I used this method before.

 

It was Christmas time, and I got a last-minute invitation to a Christmas party. I’d already scheduled a hair appointment for several days after the party. When I called to reschedule, there were no appointments available. After more than a week went by, I started getting a little worried. I decided to try out my new discovery of planting a night seed. In light of the worry I was feeling, I knew I needed peace about whatever the result would be with my hair. So I claimed John 14:27, which says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

 

Even though I was feeling stressed, I prayed and planted this peace seed. When I opened my cell phone first thing in the morning, I had a text from my hairdresser offering to do my hair on a Saturday. Not only did I get an appointment, but it was on a perfect day, so I didn’t have to miss any work.

 

My best friend Jane also planted a night seed. Her seed was concerning the promotional business she does for my writing. Facebook was blocking the usual routes of her promotions. It was as if they were trying to starve her out and get her to quit, and she knew it had to be changed around.

 

Jane didn’t get out her Bible and read the scriptures, but she told God His own story back to Him about the lepers outside the wall in Samaria. (It’s in 2 Kings 7). There was a great famine in the city because it was surrounded by an enemy army, cutting off the food supply. The lepers did as they were inspired by God, and He did a miracle. The enemy fled, leaving all the food and goods behind. The next day, the famine was gone and the commerce thriving!

 

When Jane woke up the next morning, there were more downloads on her promotion than there had been in the last three promotions!

 

This stuff works. Remember, Spirit continues to work while we sleep. Let’s make our sleep count in a spiritual way to enhance our lives. Plant a few night seeds this week.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

USER-FRIENDLY BIBLE PRINCIPLES FOR EVERYDAY LIVING

Get your copy today 😊 WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH VOL. 2  https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian/dp/B0874LGZ34/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1698601658&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-1

 

ADDING MORE JOY TO YOUR DAY

ADDING MORE JOY TO YOUR DAY

God tells us, “Every man should enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God” (Eccles. 3:13). How often have we not taken the time to do this?

 

We enjoy the money we get from a job but there are lots of things we make an effort to do in a day where we don’t get paid with money. We need to take a minute to acknowledge and celebrate those too. What about those small, seemingly insignificant tasks? God says we are to enjoy the good of ALL our labor.

 

This morning I reminded Jane of the one thing we needed to get from the store this afternoon: drinking water. Instantly it came to my mind that we have been keeping up on our emergency supply of water, toilet paper, meds, rice, and other things since 2013! I said to Jane, “Hey, we’ve done a great job at that!”

 

We aren’t supposed to just work and work and work until we exhaust ourselves. Most of us need to celebrate more. God says we’re supposed to “ENJOY THE GOOD OF ALL HIS [OUR] LABOR”, not just the good from the paycheck we get from our jobs, but the good we get from anything we work at. Do we get a good feeling and satisfaction from a small victory? We should. Do we get a thank you from someone? Enjoy the blessing of someone recognizing what you may have done for them. Do we tell ourselves how happy we are because we took on and learned a new skill? How about celebrating ourselves for accomplishing something we’ve been procrastinating for a while? There are many good results from our labors and lots of reasons to celebrate because we work at a variety of tasks.

 

Just think of some things you work at: Do you work at eating well? Reading the Bible? Are you working at hearing from the Lord more often in a day? Celebrate, acknowledge, and enjoy it. What about getting enough sleep? Do you allow yourself a nap so you can feel more alert? Be happy about it. Do you work at not gossiping? At paying your bills on time? Do you work at saying something kind every day? Do you work at spending more time with your kids?

 

Think of two things you worked at today. Whatever it is, God says we need to take the time to CELEBRATE and enjoy the good of our labor. It’s His gift to us. We can say, “Hey, I did pretty well at that. Great job! I did it!” The Lord wants us to be blessed and this is just one way He’s given us to put a little more joy in our day.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

I just finished the editing of all the chapters for Volume 2 of BIBLE LESSONS FROM NATURE! I’m taking a moment to enjoy that, and tomorrow I start with the Introduction, formatting, and some other technical stuff. I’m trying to get it out by Christmas or early in the new year. Here’s the link to Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/BIBLE-LESSONS-NATURE-Carolyn-Molica/dp/B0BV4GC859/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QACB0S8NH0BF&keywords=bible+lessons+from+nature&qid=1676485121&sprefix=%2Caps%2C222&sr=8-1

If you’ve read it, I’d love to get an Amazon review. Thanks 😊