2009 To Do List

A GREAT RECIPE FOR THE NEW YEAR!

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________’

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries,
wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip,
issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8 . Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

14. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words:
‘In five years, will this really matter?’

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything – but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick.
Your friends will. Stay in touch!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings.
You’ll be smiling before you know it.

A Prayer of Hope

Heavenly Father, I honor You. You merely spoke and the heavens were created. You breathed the word and all the stars were born. You assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the ocean in vast reservoirs. Let the whole world fear You, Lord. Let everyone stand in awe, for when You spoke, the world began and appeared at Your command. Thank you for watching over me and my family through the years. Thank you for your unfailing love and eternal blessings. Thank you for being my God.

Wonderful Father, you are my shepherd and I do not have to want for anything. You let me rest in green meadows and lead me beside peaceful streams. You renew my strength and guide me along right paths, bringing honor to your name. If I have to walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid because You are close beside me. Your rod and staff protect and comfort me. You have prepared a feast for me in the presence of my enemies and you honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with Your blessings. Surely, Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life and I will live in Your house forever. Yes, Father, I can. I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.

Holy Spirit, help me to trust our Heavenly Father daily. Help me to give him my cares since He cares for me. Please help me to walk by faith and not be persuaded by the things that are going on in my life. Gracious Father, I need you! Continue to surround me with your unfailing love for my hope is in You, alone.

Forgive me for doubting Your love for me. Forgive me for my lack of faith and sincerity. Forgive me for looking to other sources for my peace and security. I acknowledge that You are the source of my existence and I cannot live without You. Righteous Father, I submit to You and confess that Jesus Christ is Your son. Because of Him, I have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of my sins. Holy Spirit, bring to my remembrance those people that I need to forgive. (You should now see faces or names of people that you need to forgive in your spirit. Today, decide to forgive them and say out loud “I forgive [name each person].” Trust the Holy Spirit to help you to forgive and to heal the wounded places in your soul caused by offenses, hurtful words, etc.)

Father, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one.

Lord, there is none like You. You are great and Your name is full of power. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? That title belongs to You, alone! Among all the wise people of the earth and in all the kingdoms of the world, there is no one like You. You are the King of Glory. You are the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. You are worthy, Lord our God, to receive glory, honor, and power. You created all things and they exist because You created what you pleased. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptural References: Psalm 33:6-9, Psalm 23, Philippians 4:13, I Peter 5:7, Romans 10:9, Matthew 6:13, Jeremiah 10:6-7, Psalm 24:10, Revelation 4:11

Windsor Village UMC/Caldwell Ministries, Inc

Five Gifts to Give Yourself in the New Year

The holidays are a wonderful time full of having fun with friends and family and giving gifts to the people we care about. For many consumers, however, the joy of the season will soon be replaced by the stress of paying holiday debt.

“It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of giving during the holidays,” said Suzanne Boas, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Atlanta (CCCS). “But many overdo a good thing and then struggle to make even minimum payments on their credit cards.”

CCCS advises consumers to top their list of New Year’s resolutions with a commitment to improve their financial outlook. To help consumers tackle what can be a stressful time, CCCS suggests following the following tips:

1. Know how much you owe. A common mistake is not keeping track of debt. The thinking is that as long as you can keep up with the payments, everything is fine. However, if circumstances change due to a layoff or other unexpected event, you could find yourself unable to make payments and in immediate financial stress. The only way to understand what you are facing is to have a realistic picture of what you owe. Gather all your credit card statements and other bills and add up the total.

2. Create a spending plan. The easiest way to take control of your money is to set out a plan for how you will spend it. This is not glamorous and can be something of a task, but it gives you the power to decide where your money goes. The plan should be flexible and include monthly expenses such as mortgage or rent, utilities, food, transportation, entertainment, clothing, etc. Make sure your expenses are not more than your income. If they are, go back to the plan and make adjustments.

3. Pay off credit card debt. The average household has close to $10,000 in credit card debt and the interest paid on those balances can be as high as $1,800 a year. Just think of what you could do with an extra $150 a month in your budget! Stop charging additional purchases today and make a commitment to yourself that once you have paid off your debt, you will not charge any purchases unless you have a plan in place to pay off the balance in 90 days or less. Sacrifices now will mean less stress and a better financial future.

4. Build a savings cushion. Once you have paid off your credit card balances, you should begin to build a savings cushion for emergency or unexpected expenses or if you lose your job. Your goal is three to six months of living expenses put aside in a savings account. With this cushion in place, when the refrigerator stops working, your car’s transmission gives out or your mother-in-law moves in, you will not have to put those unexpected expenses on a credit card.

5. Develop a strategy for your financial future. Set aside time at least twice a month to manage your finances including paying bills, balancing your checking account and analyzing your expenses. Begin thinking about, and planning for retirement—consider when you would prefer to retire, how much money you will need to live the lifestyle of your choice and what you need to do now to get there. Establish a retirement fund and contribute to it on a regular basis.

About CCCS of Atlanta
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Atlanta is a nonprofit, community service agency dedicated to empowering people to achieve a lifetime of economic freedom. CCCS Atlanta provides free, confidential budget counseling, community and personal money management education, debt management programs, and comprehensive housing counseling. Contact CCCS Atlanta by phone at 1-888-771-HOPE (4673), or visit the Web site.

obligated, eager and unashamed

“I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:14-17).

First Fruits Fast

“Temple Cleansing and Repentance”

Vegetables, Fruit, and Water Only

Prayer of Renunciation

I renounce all selfishness, self-will, self-pity, self-rejection, self-hatred, and self-promotion in the name of Jesus.

I renounce all ungodly thought patterns and belief systems in the name of Jesus.

I renounce all fear, unbelief, and doubt in the name of Jesus.

I renounce all envy, jealousy, and covetousness in the name of Jesus.

I renounce all pride, haughtiness, arrogance, vanity, ego, disobedience, and rebellion in the name of Jesus.

I renounce all hatred, anger, resentment, revenge, retaliation, unforgiveness, and bitterness in the name of Jesus.

I renounce all lust, perversion, immorality, uncleanness, impurity, and sexual sin in the name of Jesus.

I renounce all witchcraft, sorcery, divination, and occult involvement in the name of Jesus.

I renounce all addiction to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or any legal or illegal substance that has bound me in the name of Jesus.

I forgive any person who has ever hurt me, disappointed me, abandoned me, mistreated me, or rejected me in the name of Jesus.

by Apostle John Eckardt

Alice Walker to Barack Obama

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people’s enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, “hate the sin, but love the sinner.” There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people’s spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to “work with the enemy” internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker

November 5, 2008

The power of forgiveness

Sometimes the hardest thing to say is “I’m sorry,” to admit that we have hurt someone. The only thing that can be harder is to forgive those who have hurt us. Most of us are familiar with the love chapter of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul defines true love:

* Love is patient.
* Love is kind.
* Love does not envy.
* Love is not easily angered.
* Love keeps no record of wrongs.

The reality is that we all need forgiveness, and we all must learn to forgive.
I grew up in a small Texas town that we moved to the day after my father’s funeral. We were poor, living in what some would call a “shack” on the edge of town. My amazing mother worked three jobs to support three children as well as my grandmother who lived with us. Her main job was working as a nurse in the hospital nursery where she took care of newborns.

As a child, I was frequently sick with colds, ear infections, and the flu. It seemed as if I was at the doctor’s office almost every week during the winter. We had no insurance and very little money, but we did have a family doctor who was a friend and colleague of my mother’s. In fact, they worked side-by-side each day at the one and only hospital in town. Knowing our financial circumstances, this doctor and his wife often asked my mom to babysit to earn extra money. Since they had five children, I was often recruited to go with her as a backup.

Over the years, this doctor often took care of our medical needs, charging us nothing. Little did I know the high price that I would have to pay. This doctor was my friend, a man I respected, and a man I trusted – until the day he molested me in his office. The hurt, pain, and betrayal were so great that I locked it away in some dark corner of my soul, refusing to admit it had ever happened. I told no one.

Uncovering the wounds

Fast forward 20 years when I was happily married to Dan Southerland, a pastor and my best friend, and had two wonderful children. Our church was exploding in growth. I had started traveling and speaking for women’s conferences and retreats, and loved it! Everything on the outside looked great, successful, and very right – but inside the past slowly ate away at my very being until one day, my world collapsed and I sank into a pit of clinical depression. I was paralyzed emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. The simple tasks seemed like impossible mountains to climb. Panic attacks became a daily event. I stepped out of ministry and out of life as I had known it.

I began to uncover the wounds I had so desperately tried to ignore most of my life. Instead of dealing with those wounds, I kept insanely busy in a vain attempt to earn God’s favor and the approval of others. My worth seemed to rest on the foundation of doing, instead of being. I soon discovered that one of the main reasons I had fallen into that pit was because I refused to face and deal with the pain of my past, but with the help of a loving husband, a Christian psychiatrist, and a brilliant family doctor, I began to make slow but steady progress in climbing out of that dark, slimy pit. Then, I remembered.

I remembered that day in the doctor’s office. I remembered it all, and when that awful memory slammed into my life, I fell apart. I hated that man. I wanted him to pay for what he had done to me. I wanted him to hurt like I had been hurt. I also knew that somehow I had to let go of my pain and forgive him or I would be trapped for the rest of my life. God and I began to work through every painful, horrifying moment of that memory.

Months passed, and the day came when Dan asked me to speak at all five worship services of our church. When I asked him what the topic was, he smiled and simply said, “Forgiveness.” I knew what God was up to, and being the mature and godly woman that I was, I became furious with Him. “That man does not deserve forgiveness, Lord” I ranted.

My Father whispered, “Neither do you, child.” But I was still angry. “Lord, he is the one that hurt me,” I cried. “I think it is only fair for me to wait for him to make the first move. And then he needs to come crawling on his hands and knees, begging for my forgiveness!”

The choice to forgive

In the silence, I heard the words of the Great Physician, a voice I have come to love so much, “Aren’t you glad I didn’t wait for you to come to me?” I suddenly realized I had a choice to make. I could hang on to my anger and bitterness, making that evil man my jailer, or I could choose to forgive him and set myself free!

But I just couldn’t forgive him on my own, so I did what David did. I cried out to God.

Psalm 40:1-3a (NIV) says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit; out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.”

As I wrestled with the choice to forgive, I learned several life-changing truths:

* If we make the choice to forgive, God will supply the forgiveness.
* There should be no limit to our forgiveness because there is no limit to His.
* Forgiveness is not a feeling or an emotion. Forgiveness is a deliberate choice.
* Forgiveness is our greatest need, and God’s greatest gift.

For some reason, the holidays seem to intensify old wounds, resurrect old hurts, and magnify old longings. We must deal with old pain before we can truly live today and tomorrow. While we cannot change the past, we can change our response to the past and dictate the power it has over us.

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist. But because our greatest need is forgiveness, God sent a Savior, Jesus Christ, who is calling us all to a higher place, a place of forgiveness. The choice is ours to make. Today, we can choose freedom by choosing to forgive.

by Mary Southerland

A Prayer to Christ

Christmas is often busy and stressful. This prayer by Anselm of Canterbury offers words to turn our hearts to our Savior and express our adoration and desire for Him.

Lord Jesus Christ,
my Redeemer, my Mercy, and my Salvation:
I praise you and give you thanks.
They are far beneath the goodness of your gifts,
which deserve a better return of love;
but although I requite so poorly
the sweet riches of your love
which I have longed to have,
yet my soul will pay its debt
by some sort of praise and thanks,
not as I know I ought, but as I can. . . .

The Art of Receiving

A friend is throwing a birthday party for me soon. I’m really looking forward to it–but I’m also a tad nervous. The spotlight will be on me. There will be cards, maybe gifts, and nice words said in my honor. My friends will probably gather around me and sing “Happy Birthday.” And I want to receive all that kindness and attention.

By “receive” I mean more than just saying “thank you.” Expressing gratitude is important. But receiving goes a step further and a whole lot deeper. My friends are celebrating me because they want me to know they love and value me. When I intentionally accept that affirmation, I let their sincere words and kindnesses penetrate my insecurities and challenge my negative self-perceptions. And that changes me. I act more out of who I really am in Christ and less out of my sense of inadequacy. But those good things can’t happen if I resort to my usual tendencies to discount compliments, change the subject, say, “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” or blush and flat out ignore the ways my friends intend to build me up.

The same is true with God. As a loving father, God constantly looks for ways to support, affirm, and encourage His children. His eyes “range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chron. 16.9). I wish I could say that receiving the words and gifts of encouragement God offers is easier for me than receiving affirmations from friends, but honestly, it’s not. I want to learn from Mary, who is my hero when it comes to receiving from God.

Mary was given tremendous affirmation. First, an angel announced that she was “highly favored” and chosen to become mother to the Son of God. Shortly after, her considerably older relative declared she was blessed among women and gushed over her with delight (see Lk. 1:26-45). If that had happened to me, I probably wouldn’t have believed any of it. Most likely, I’d have thought, I don’t deserve this! Surely God mistook me for someone else. But Mary didn’t do that. Apparently she believed the announcement that she was favored by God, despite whatever flaws she might have seen in herself. Listen to her response:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me–holy is his name” (Lk. 1:46-49).

Always the ponderer (see Lk. 2:19,51), Mary surely meditated on God’s affirmations, then chose to believe them and depended on Him to make them real in her. In other words, she received. And I suspect she was a better mother because of it.

I may not have angels showing up on my doorstep, but when the Lord offers me encouragement–whether it’s through His Word, the kindness of His children, or the testimony of His Spirit witnessing to mine–I want to receive it. And I can do that like Mary did, by pondering on and appropriating these truths to myself and then praying a joyful response.

What gifts–tangible and intangible–is God giving you this Christmas? In what ways is He seeking to strengthen and encourage you? Whatever they are, I hope you’ll join me in learning from Mary by offering Him a prayer that receives deeply what He wants you to have.

by Cynthia Bezek, editor of Pray! Magazine

Our Greatest Need

If our greatest need was information;
God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need was technology;
He would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need was pleasure;
He would have sent us an entertainer.
If our greatest need was money;
God would have sent us an economist.
But our greatest need was forgiveness;
So God sent us a Saviour.

by Roy Lessin