Words & Beats
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, September 26th 2016 Share the goods! There was an amazing scientific study done some time ago that attempted to illustrate the power of words. The scientists put water in different jars and labeled the jars with certain words on the outside labels. One container was labeled love. Another container was labeled hate, and another was labeled patience. What is interesting is that after some time had passed, the scientists checked the molecular structure of the water inside the containers and discovered to their amazement the molecular structure had changed!!! This is so deep because if we as people are made of 90% water, then words must have a significant impact on us as people!!! There is power in the words we speak. Click To Tweet This is very similar to the demonstration done to prove the impact of music on plants. There were three different rooms, one containing plants that played classical music, another with plants and no music, and a third that had plants and heavy metal being played. What was discovered was that the plants with the classical music grew above average. The plants with no music grew at an average rate, and the plants with hip hop/heavy metal music grew but at a rate below average. What the research uncovered was that classical music is played to a cadence that has a pattern or strong weak, strong weak – which is similar to how we breathe as humans. They discovered that heavy metal music had a pattern of weak strong, weak strong. This pattern was discovered to be...
Hopeful vs Hopeless
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, July 25th 2016 Share the goods! During the Korean War, American soldiers were found dead in three basic states. Some were fighting, some were running away, and some were found dead in the bottom of their foxholes with no signs of violence. Those fighting and those running had similar physiologic changes found during autopsy: 1. Blood was shunted to the skeletal muscles and away from the intestines. 2. The pupils of their eyes were dilated. 3. The muscles of their heart were in a state of constriction at the time of death. 4. The airways to their lungs were dilated. Those found dead with no marks of violence had the opposite changes: 1. Blood was shunted to the intestines and away from the skeletal muscles. 2. The pupils of their eyes were constricted. 3. The muscles of their heart were in a state of relaxation at the time of death. 4. The airways to their lungs were constricted. These findings were compatible with sympathetic nervous system discharge for the fighters and runners. The others were compatible with parasympathetic nervous system discharge. The sympathetic part is also called the “fight or flight response” and is a result, in general, of the outpouring of adrenaline. The parasympathetic part is also called the “vegetative” side of the nervous system. These soldiers’ autopsies demonstrated exactly what this discharge would cause – death! The conclusion of the article was that the soldiers who were fighting or running were trying to do something, even if in fear. They had hope of winning or getting away. The soldiers...
Be of Good Cheer
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, January 18th 2016 Share the goods! We can usually cope with something when we find out it’s normal. When a pregnant woman starts to have morning sickness or her feet start to swell she can initially become very upset, but when a doctor tells her that these experiences can be a normal part of pregnancy all of a sudden the woman’s perspective changes and she adapts. She’s still nauseated. Her ankles are still swollen, and she can’t fit comfortably into most of her clothes. She may still be feeling poorly physically, but she’s no longer worried because she understands what’s happening and that it’s all part of the process. If you go through life without understanding that there are some things that you have to go through so that you can deliver what God has impregnated in you, you can get distracted. John 16:33 NKJV says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. How consistent is my explanatory style with what the Bible has to say? Click To Tweet Psalms 34:19 NKJV reminds us that, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” If you don’t live with the mindset that there are some things in life that you simply must push through, you’ll turn an experience into a crisis—when it’s really just a crossroad! We must continually ask ourselves, “ What’s my perspective on this situation, and what...
Cancerous Thinking
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, January 11th 2016 Share the goods! Did you know that cancer cells do their own thing? They have their own agenda and act independently within the body—growing and multiplying as they desire, and destroying the good cells. And this is how negative thoughts work in the life of the believer— each negative thought that we have tends to multiply and metastasize, but God gave us the ability to renew our minds so that each good thought becomes a building block that fortifies us and the body of Christ. But when we allow negative thoughts to grow and metastasize into cancerous thinking those thoughts end up destroying us! Each negative thought that we have tends to multiply and metastasize. Click To Tweet Look at the metaphor in Ephesians 4:15-16 (NKJV) “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Joints connect and build up the rest of the body. The purpose of joints in the context of Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) “for the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, is for the soul to connect and link up with the...
Plantation Mindset
The Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, but Texas didn’t find out about it until June 19, 1865, which means there was a two-year gap between the time when the slaves were granted liberty and when they experienced liberty. Nobody told the slaves in Texas they were free. Even though they were legally free, they were not experientially free, so in 1865, blacks in Texas were still walking around behaving like slaves.
Don’t Give Up
When pilots are taught to fly they undergo rigorous training in flight simulators and have to learn and memorize all manner of flight maneuvers.
Northern Pike
As an experiment, a marine biologist captured a Great Northern Pike fish and put it in an aquarium and created an environment similar to the one that the pike lived in in the Canadian lakes.
Access Point
A woman who lived by herself went home one day and discovered that she’d been burglarized. As you can imagine, the woman was very upset and went out and purchased an alarm system and had it installed; she also replaced her stolen items.
Back in the Box
A young boy used to play Monopoly with his grandmother, and he would save his money. She would buy everything she could and eventually became the master of the board. At the end of the game, his grandmother would say, “One day, you’ll learn how to play the game.”
Judge Not Lest You Be Judged
We are like umpires at a baseball game in that we lo ve to call balls and strikes on somebody else. It is kind of like if you ask what time it is you will get a whole bunch of answers; some people set their watches ahead, some people set their watches behind.
Stake in The Ground
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, March 27th 2017 Share the goods! As a child, many of us have been to the Ringling Brothers circus at Madison Square Garden or the Nassau Colosseum. If you look at the elephants, you will see that while huge, they are tied to a little tiny stake that has been hammered into the ground. Did you know that if they wanted to, they could rip the stick out and free themselves to roam? But they will never do it. Because when they were a baby, they were “lied” to. The trainer led them to believe that as long as there was a stake in the ground with a chain, they were helpless, hopeless, and bound. They drummed this into the elephant’s orientation so regularly – hitting the little elephants’ leg when they tried to move it!!! Those elephants will die never having known that they had the power to move the stake. The people who know their God will do great exploits. Click To Tweet Catch this!!! This is satans’ agenda; many Christians will die never having known what they could have been if they knew the power of the revelation of their righteousness in Christ. The little stake that is holding you down can be ripped up when you use your God-given power. You have the authority to rip up the influence of the person that is holding you back. Same for the circumstance that is controlling you!!! Daniel 11:32 tells us that the people who know their God will do great exploits! When was the last time you did...
Antiquated Maps
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, February 6th 2017 Share the goods! I heard a story of a group of people who found a 4-month old abandoned German shepherd who was suffering from dehydration. The puppy also suffered from bruises all over its body. The people said that the puppy avoided them and for the first month, whenever they came near it, it would shrink and tremble. When they tried to reach out their hand to pet it, it would cower in the corner because it had learned to expect abuse from the hands of humans. It feared the world that it had come to know. It is the same way with children who develop their perception of the world based on how their first caretakers care for them. If they had good parents then they develop strong trust muscles. If they had bad parents then they develop weak trust muscles and their ability to bond is hindered. It is through these experiences that we draw a mental map of the world and then we order our journey around it. Am I using an old map to live, govern, or dictate my life? Click To Tweet This is not something we do consciously. It is kind of like touching a hot stove and the brain warning us not to do that again. The puppy, however, had not been warned not to touch a hot stove but not to connect with humans. The only problem is that the puppy’s mental map was now outdated. When we are older and are removed from a painful setting, our brain does...
Day Tight Compartments
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, January 30th 2017 Share the goods! Many years ago, there was an article by a famous physician by the name of Osler. He had some wise observations about worry and dealing with the psychological challenges of worry in the lives of people. He made an interesting analogy, he said that ocean liners are designed in such a way that the steel doors are able to be lowered by the press of a button, so that even if the hall of the ship is pieced by some disaster of some sort, they can lower the steel door and close off the hall so that only a portion of the ship is flooded. The doctor went on to make this important application by saying that in the journey of life, it is critical to learn how to lower the door against the tomorrows that may come in to destroy your life and then learn how to lower the door on the yesterdays that can cause you to worry, and learn how to live in a day tight compartment. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but rather worry will empty today of its strength. Click To Tweet Listen to what Jesus said, He said in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” And then in Deuteronomy 33:2, “As your days, so shall your strength be.” No man has ever sunk under the burden of today, but many a man has sunk under the burden of...
The Enemy’s Cell
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, January 9th 2017 Share the goods! One of the greatest and scariest aspects of 9/11 was the fact that the enemy had set up cells in our community. This is so scary because cells are pockets of enemies that are planted so that they can familiarize themselves with our patterns of life. In older times they were called the fourth column. Well, satan does the same thing now. He sets up cells that plant themselves in our minds and they study our thoughts and the things that interest us. Just like the 9/11 cells, these cells in our mind become activated. Don't believe the enemy and his lies. Click To Tweet Let’s talk about some of the cells that the enemy plants in our mind that activate at the opportune time: 1. Fear is a cell that the enemy plants. He tells you that you do not have what it takes to make it. He tells you that you will grow old and your dreams will not come to pass. 2. He plants the cell of ‘unlovable.’ In other words, he tells you that you are unlovable. He really loves this cell with single women because he tells them that they are incapable of being loved and that no man will appreciate what they have to offer. He tells them that they will never meet anyone who will care for them. 3. Age is another cell that the enemy plants. He tells people that they are too young or too old and it is too late to fulfill their destiny. MORE...
Let Go and Fly
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, January 2nd 2017 Share the goods! There was a family of birds that was teaching their young to fly. The young swallows were perched on a dead branch over a lake. One of the adult swallows got alongside the chicks and started pushing them to the end of the branch. They pushed until finally one of the birds fell off. Somewhere between the branch and the water that was 4 feet below, the wings started to work, and the bird took off on its own. The second one did the same exact thing, but the third one was not to be bullied. As it started to fall off it grabbed the branch with its foot. But the parent was not sentimental; it peaked at the poor chick’s foot until it was more painful to fall than it was to hang on than deal with the insecurities of flying. The grip was released and the inexperienced wings started to pump. The mature swallow knew what the little chick did not and that is it would fly, and there was no danger in making it do what it was designed to do. Birds have feet, but flying is their characteristic action. What were you designed to do? Click To Tweet They are not fulfilled until they are flying, doing what they were born to do gracefully and with action. Here is a question: what were you designed to do? What are you trying to hang onto that is preventing you from living to your potential? Like the little swallow, what are you hanging...
Solve for X
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, December 12th 2016 Share the goods! The key to life is to solve for x, for example 3x+4=19. The goal of the enemy is to have you think the whole equation is the problem, when in reality the problem is x. The enemy always talks in generalities, and the Holy Spirit always talks in specifics. This is like saying the Holy Spirit always convicts by solving for x. The enemy always condemns for the whole equation. This is important, if you can solve for x and discover what is holding you back in your walk with the Lord then you can move to the next level. This is the difference between the optimist and the pessimist. Or, we could say, the difference between people whose eyes are full of light and people whose eyes are full of darkness. You see, the optimist says that his problem is x, the pessimist says his problem is the whole algebraic equation. The enemy always talks in generalities, and the Holy Spirit always talks in specifics. Click To Tweet MORE TOPICS addiction authority biblical characters career challenges children communication convictions depression discernment emotions failure faith family fear finances forgiveness grace healing identity leadership love marriage men parenting personal development pornography priorities process purpose relationships respect restoration righteousness sex sin success temptation trials women Help us continue helping others! DONATE TODAY Share the goods! Monday, December 12th 2016 RELATED VERSES John 16:13 (NKJV) However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His...
Break The Cycle
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, March 28th 2016 Share the goods! There’s a term called “transference” that’s used in psychology. Transference occurs when a person experiences something in a previous relationship and the person projects that experience onto others. What makes this dangerous is that “transference” will often make the person unconsciously engage in behavior that causes them to create experiences they fear. For instance, a person who had a tough and controlling father grows up to resent, or fear authority figures. What can happen is that when that person gets a job and their boss gives them some constructive criticism at a 5 level, the person, who is extra sensitive, and expecting the same treatment from his boss that he received from his father hears the criticism at level 9. What’s tricky is that the person will unconsciously engage in behavior that leads to the very situation they fear or were trying to avoid. Don't let your past determine your future! Click To Tweet Suppose that same person’s boss asks them to make a copy. The person making the copy is so nervous that he rushes to make it, but in his haste he makes a poor quality copy. The person then rushes and hands the copy to his boss. The boss looks at it and thinks to himself, “Why would they make such a poor quality copy?” The vicious cycle swings into motion, because the boss then tells them to make the copy quality a little better the next time. The boss’s level 5 comment is interpreted at a level 10 and instead of...
Kathy Ormsby
In 1986, Kathy Ormsby was one of our nation’s top women athletes. She was the current record holder in the 10,000-meter run and was on the Dean’s List at North Carolina State.
The Game is Half Over
Roy Riegels was a football player at the University of California who played a close game against Georgia Tech in the 1929 Rose Bowl. Playing defense, Roy Riegels tried to tackle a Georgia Tech player and was shoved against another player and got turned around and he started running down the sideline, probably thinking, “This is great!