Inspiration by Kathleen Nestor

In the book Imitation of Christ, Thomas A' kem pis says "it is great wisdom and perfection to think nothing of ourse lves ." Jesus Himself says "if you want to be great in my kingdom you must become a servant of all."  In another place He said that we must become like child ren in our faith and attitude. I D ie Daily The idea of dying daily is that I must daily put my ego in su bjection to God 's authority.  Th at part of me that loves to be seen, heard and recognized must be put in submission .  God must rule my heart.  My ac tions and de sires must be generat ed and controlled b y the need to be a blessing to others.  I must be a so urce of encouragement a nd l ight. A More Excellent Wa y   An ego-less life is a life in whi ch I am free to perf orm more excellently.  As I live a life surrendered to God, I become f ree from the burden of trying to impress others to find my self worth , I am complete in Him.  I now seek to excel to be ...

Whats in a name or what name do you answer too? According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, "a name is a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or thing."   What name do you answer too In the old testament names were given to denote both the circumstances or characteristics that they hoped to see manifested in the child or surrounding the birth of the child.  The names given to some of us may or may not have been given with much thought but it is not the name that is given to us that is important now but the name we answer to.  As one writer says, "the person who we allow to define us will determine our destiny."   The value of a name Companies know the value of a good name. Some companies would even change there names to foster a more positive identity.  God who is our loving father has chosen special names by which we all can be known.  He calls us friends, sons of God, blessed, the righteousness of God, c...

Joseph said, I will not do this thing and sin against my God Caleb said, give me  this mountain for at 80 years I am as strong as I was 40 years ago Elisha said, they that are for us are more than they that are for them Nehemiah said, I am doing a good work and I cannot come down Esther said, if I perish I perish but I am going to see the king Job said, though He slay me yet will I trust Him David said, you come with a sword and a spear but I come to you in the name of the Lord Daniel said, the God whom I serve will deliver me out of the mouth of the lion The Hebrew boys said, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us out of the fiery furnace Paul said, I do not count my life dear unto myself Justin Martyr said, 80 and 6 years I have served the Lord and yet He has not failed me, I will not deny Him When hard times come what will you say ?

One will put a thousand to flight and two ten thousand. It only takes one person to put to flight the negative forces of a thousand. One person can make a distinction through prayer. One person can make a difference by choosing to be magnanimous. To be a light in the midst of darkness. To be positive instead of being negative. To say no when others are saying yes. To swim upstream when others are going downstream. To speak the truth when others believe the lies. To be a voice for the voiceless. To be fearless in the face of fear. To believe in the midst of doubt. To stand for justice where there is injustice. To be strong for the weak. To help create order in the midst of disorder. To go the extra mile. One person can make a difference through prayer, faith and action. ONE will put a thousand to flight and two ten thousand. Will you be the ONE?

One day my family and I went to the beach for a picnic. The kids brought along my youngest son's special toy, a green and yellow ball that he had for a long time. We were playing with the ball when it got away from us into the water. The current was strong and the water was choppy and we were all sad to see it go. I felt for my son. At one time it even seemed like the ball was calling out for us to come and get it but we could not. In fact, we were thankful to God that we did not let our feelings supercede His wisdom. The water was too dangerous and the ball was moving quickly. We had no choice but to let it go. To consider it lost. At that time it was the best thing for us to do. Similarly in life situations there will be times that we will have to know when to Let Go . Let Go and Let God! There may things in our lives that may look good, feel good, seem good but may not be right for us. We may try to hold on to these things longer than we should to our own detriment. We m...

Jesus said that men should always pray. Many of us are so busy that it has become so difficult at times for us to have time to do so. Prayer offers us a guarantee of strength, protection and guidance from God. We feel better about life itself when we pray. Here is a copy of a sample prayer wheel chart that I think will be helpful to you. May God's blessings be on you as you continue in prayer now and for the rest of the year! This prayer wheel was taken from: http://www.christianchallenge.us/Spiritual_Formation/Prayer/onehour-prayer.html Prayer/onehour-prayer.html Spend An Hour With God Spend an hour with God? Its easier than you think. Break it up into 5 minute blocks and focus on the following during each 5 minute segment: 1. PRAISE Start your prayer hour by praising the Lord. Praise Him for things that are on your mind right now. Praise Him for one special thing He has done in your life in the past week. Praise Him for His goodness to your family. (Psalm 34:...