Day 45: Do Volunteer Work

Day 45: Do Volunteer Work- You don't have to look very far to find someone in need. First, look around your neighborhood.  Drive or walk around the block and see who needs some yard work done or where there are a lot of kids.  Offer to pull weeds, wash the windows on the house. Whatever, needs done be willing to get to know your neighbors and lend a helping hand.

If they have kids get them involved in the work too.  Teach them how to help others and talk to them about how rewarding it is to help those your are close to.  After, you've helped the neighbors now look in your own family.  Is there an Aunt, Cousin, Mom or Dad that could use help around the house? 

Maybe they don't have lots of money and bringing them a bag of groceries would show how much you care.  It's this kind of help that Jesus taught us to do.  Not to just have a personal interest in our own lives but in the lives of those near to us as well.

Day 44: Find A Role Model- In my family the Bible is the book we read most often.  We also have many other Bible based publications that teach us how to draw close to God and how to follow the example set by his son Jesus Christ.  We have one night set aside every week to do Bible reading and discuss what we've learned and how it can help us in our life today.

Then, at our weekly congregation meetings we get more spiritual guidance and direction from the Bible.  There is no greater gift than what God did for us by sending his first born Son to the earth to die for our sins and give us a hope for everlasting life.

Keeping this good spiritual routine has helped us get through all kinds of trials that this wicked world brings to us.  Having a strong and close relationship with our spiritual brothers and sisters has also helped us endure during these critical last days that Jesus taught us would be the sign of his presence and of the conclusion of this Satan controlled world. Matthew 24: 1-22

Day 44-Find A Role Model

Day 44- Find A Role Model- In today's world there are lots of books about the life and times of famous people who made their mark on the world.  But, did they really do something that changed the world for the better that lasted?  Sadly, the answer is no. 

There is one person that did change the world for the better that lasted until our day and that was Jesus Christ.  He was the greatest man who ever lived.  He is the perfect role model for us all. Young or old, man or women we can all learn something positive from the example he left when on earth.

Why not read the Bible books starting with Matthew through John and see for yourself all that he did while here on earth and what his main reason was for coming to the earth was.  It will help you keep a positive attitude and reduce stress knowing that very soon all the wonderful miracles he performed back then will be done on a world-wide scale in the near future.

Day 43- Transform Your Mind- Adapting the thinking found in the scriptures has helped me in my life since I was a child many decades ago.  Thought I was going to tell you how old I am.  Not that I'm age conscious, I'll just say I was born in the 60's, how's that? hehe!!
I can remember as far back to when I was six years old and learning all the books of the bible in order.  We were constantly using the Bible at our Christian meetings so I quickly learned where all the books were by age eight.

We also have a ministry school at our Christian meetings and I joined that at eight years old and gave my first 5 minute part with an assistant.  We had a topic and had to look up the scriptures that supported that topic and explain it to someone.  That has helped me in our door to door ministry as well.

If all households had this kind of training the world would be a much different place. Instead of focusing on material things in life we focus on the spiritual things. Thus, I belong to a world-wide brother and sisterhood of over 7 million people world-wide that love one another just as Jesus taught us to do if we wanted to be one of his disciples.

That is a bond that can not be broken and a unity that crosses race, color and country. We apply Isaiah 2: 2-4 we truly love one another and have learned war no more.

Day 43: Transform Your Mind

Day 43: Transform Your Mind: I've learned that keeping a positive attitude helps reduce stress.  But, in today's world there are certain attitudes that make it difficult to keep that positive attitude within us.  So, what can help us maintain the positive once we've attained it?  The perfect scripture came to mind found at Romans chapter 12 verse 2. It says: "And quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God".

One of those harmful attitudes from the world is pride.  It's the wrong kind of pride that is harmful as found at James 4:16 " All such taking of pride is wicked".  Another, harmful attitude is envy or jealousy.  Which we have to fight off from our own sinful tendency toward these things as mentioned at James 4:5, 6-  "Or does it seem to you that the scripture says to no purpose: "It is with a tendency to envy that the spirit which has taken up residence within us keeps longing"? 6: "However, the undeserved kindness which he gives is greater. Hence, it says: "God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones."

Day 42: Do One Less Thing- Lately, this has been my new best habit to do one less thing every day, and I'm really getting used to doing things this new way.  It has taken so much pressure off of me.  And, I have been exercising my right to say "No" to those who thought I was their personal secretary that are outside of my immediate family.  It feels so good to stand up and take charge of my life.

In fact, I've found that I'm being treated with more respect now that I respect myself more and others know that I do.  Now, if I can teach this to my quiet and shy daughter who doesn't know how to be assertive in the right way, I'll have accomplished a great task. 

Day 42: Do One Thing Less

Day 42: Do One Thing Less- Less is more in this case. Get in the habit of doing one less thing each day. Purposely remove one item from your to-do list. Train yourself to accept that your world will not crumble if you don't achieve all you've set out to do.

Discover that life can be full, and can even feel complete, when some things go undone. Make a list of all the really important things that need to be done that week. Then break them down into a day by day list.  Like paying a bill or going to an appointment should be first on the list. Start with today, make it a one less thing to do day. You'll feel so much better getting all those things off your mind when you know it's already been decided you'll do it another day.

Day 41: Do Not Be Afraid of Bad News- This one came home to haunt me this week. My daughter went on a trip with a family friend and came home to tell me, guess what, they've invited me to move in with them, and pay no rent. Just do my spiritual activities and work a little part time job.  Of course, when she told me that she wasn't thinking what it was going to do to me emotionally.  She tells me everything so she didn't want to hide it from me just get it right out in the open. And, at 20 years old you don't think maybe this should wait until tomorrow, not right before bedtime.

But, I stopped and said a silent prayer and listened to the rest of her news about the trip.  And, the next day I thought really hard why my friend did what she did.  Her daughter moved out of the house and came to live with us, her Aunt.  It hurt her very much that her own daughter wanted to leave home and move in with her Aunt.  So, she was hurt and wanted to hurt someone else, even a friend.  Knowing her personality is like that I mulled the whole thing over and realized why she did it and now I'm not worried.

I told my daughter you are 20 years old now and need to spread your wings and learn a few lessons in life.  So time will tell what road she will travel and learn from her mistakes.  So, thank goodness I had just read that scripture and was able to remember it and put it into practice in my life.

That's why reading the Bible daily is so important, cause you never know what will happen and how you'll need the comfort of a particular scripture for the holy spirit to help you recall.