Good Morning Garden

No matter what problem you may have to face today, there is a solution, because you have nothing to deal with but your own thoughts. As you know, you have the power to select and control your thoughts, difficult though it may be at times to do so. As long as you think that your destiny is in the hands of other people, the situation is hopeless.

Remind yourself constantly that you have nothing to deal with but your own thoughts. Write it down where you will see it often. Have it on your desk. Hang it in your bedroom. Write it in your pocketbook. Write it on your soul. It will transform your life. It will lead you out of the land of Egypt and out of the House of Bondage. It will bring you to God.

I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies (Psalm 119:59).

Yes, there are a multitude of problems in each of our lives that may appear to have no solution. These problems could be seen as rational reasons to feel hopeless and that hopelessness would bind us to fear, anxiety or despair. But God has told us not to feel this way, and that if we turn to God, we can overcome the problems we face. When we control our thoughts and turn them to God, we are not alone alone, and no longer dependent on our limited human ability. When we have true faith in God, we are empowered to break the yoke of fear and rise above our problems. We then receive the strength and mental discipline we need to control our thoughts.

Think God,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

People are very apt to find what they seek. You have noticed that people who go about looking for trouble, practically always find it. The popular proverb, “Listeners seldom hear good of themselves,” is an example. We also know people who love to say that they never have any luck. When things seem to go against them, they exclaim triumphantly, “Wouldn’t you know it?—that is what always happens to me!”

Now, such a mistaken person needs only to alter this habit and he will automatically alter his life. It is often difficult to get such people to make this alteration, but if they do the result is never in doubt. Spiritual law says that it is never too late to mend, and that when we seek God’s help we find it.

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth;for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22).

We see what we expect. Two people in separate cars sitting in morning traffic can see two totally different worlds. One driver sees a beautiful blue sky and rolls down the window to feel the cool breeze and smell the moist morning air. The other sees a traffic jam and lays on their horn while cursing the other drivers, the sun in their eyes and the cold winter blast that chills their bones.

Sunny side up,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

People are to be judged by their actions. We sometimes hear it said, “His conduct is bad but at heart he means well”; but this is nonsense. In the old-fashioned phrase, “handsome is as handsome does.”

The bad-tempered person cannot possibly have a “heart of gold” as is sometimes charitably said. A bad-tempered person has a mean, selfish heart and should get busy and change it without delay.

One who loves does not seek his own advantage. Love acts the part, and anything else is hypocrisy.

…be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32).

This not only applies to the mean-hearted person, who seeks their own advantage, but also to those who lash out in anger, judgement or condemnation when wronged, hurt or mistreated. Those negative reactions have the same effect on the soul, spirit and mind whether we feel justified in them or when we are just being hateful.

Seeking the pasture,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

We all know that it is God alone who is our peace—although nearly all of us tend to forget it from time to time. We forget it when we begin to neglect our daily visit with God.

Now, when you think that you are too busy for your daily visit, let me ask you frankly, what wonderful thing are you doing that is more important? There is nothing that you could possibly do with that time that would bring you greater benefit than perfect peace. As a matter of fact, if you have something very important and urgent to do, your visit will make that very important thing go through much more easily and successfully.

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace… (Job 22:21).

When we start our day with God, we have marked our begriming location and can know where we are throughout the day regardless of our course. Just as a sailor must know his beginning location to know his position at any time, we too must know where our daily journey begins. It is through prayer that God will reveal our true position and help us chart our course through the day to the proper destination. If we finish the day with God, our anchorage will be secure and we will know where we are when we sleep. If we jump into the day without God, we might as well be sailing blind and we can be sure that the seas will be rougher and our destination unknown. By starting and finishing each day in prayer, we will have the peace of knowing where we are, where we are going and that our course is sure. Whether sailing or living, this is the recipe for peace, hope and faith that assures we will arrive at the destination God intends for us.

There is a bumper sticker that sums this up completely. It says’ Know God, know peace…No God, no peace.”

With God as our guide,
Stan

Read Full Post »