How to be a Winner at Love

If your love is like a bank account, what is your balance?  What kind of maintenance fees do you pay?  Do you ever find yourself overdrawn on your account?  If you want to be a winner at love, try these investment ideas:

1. Avoid short-term investments.  Love needs a long-term plan.  Marriage shows your commitment to a solid portfolio.
2. In order for love to work, you must be willing to deposit more than you withdraw.  When both parties share this philosophy, there is a high yield.
3. Make a commitment to invest daily in your love account.  You put your account at risk if you are taking more than you are giving and you may end up with a closed account.
4. Beware of excessive fees and hidden charges.  These show up when you fail to monitor your account.  
5. Honor your bad checks immediately.  Winners admit their mistakes.  If you find yourself overdrawn on love, fix it.  Find out how you made the error and avoid blaming anyone else on your joint account.  Promise to communicate better so you are able to keep your account in good standing.

Love is intangible.  It can be hard to find and easy to lose.  Do your best to treat it with dignity and respect.  Be a philanthropist and give it away without thinking about what your rate of return may be.  You will find wealth beyond measure and you will die rich.

How to Unlock the Door to Heaven

I recall a story in my youth about Jesus inspecting the inhabitants of Heaven with Peter, the gatekeeper.  Some seemed a little edgy.  Jesus asked, "Peter, aren't you guarding the gate?  Some of these people don't look like they belong here."

"Don't blame me, Jesus," Peter replied.  It's your Mother, she's letting 'em in through the window."

I also remember someone sharing his opinion about the population of Heaven.  "You will be surprised by two things -- who is there and who isn't."

Dad's last request before departing this world was to return a Bible to our pastor who accidentally left it behind when he paid our family a visit.  Dad said, "son, this is a very important book and I need you to return it right away.  This book contains the keys to the gates of Heaven."

Dad never told me what page revealed the keys.  He was a writer.  He believed readers need suspense.  He loved mysteries.  Dad was old school.  In today's times, everyone wants instant answers.  Even Google can't tell you where to find the door to Heaven.  While it's true you can't sneak in through the window, Mary does offer a clue.  She always advises others to listen to her Son.  This may be the most important lesson Jesus teaches about how to unlock the door to Heaven:

 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." ~ John 14:6.

Today is a good day to ask the Locksmith to move into your heart.  He is the only one with the keys to Heaven.  When Peter asks who is knocking at the door, tell him, "it's me -- one of Jesus' followers.  He told me anyone who believes in Him can ask for anything and he will receive it.  I would like to join the party.  Please unlock the door to Heaven."

God's Empathy

Even before you were born, God knew every choice you would make.  He felt the consequences of your actions or lack of actions.  He knows you perfectly.  The further you stray from His plans for your life, the more intense your doubts become.  Why is it important to know God has empathy for you?  Consider these ideas:

1. While there may be people in this world with the gift of empathy, the only one who understands you perfectly is God.  He knows exactly how you feel and only He knows the perfect solution for your circumstances.
2. Most troubles come from a broken relationship with God.  Who would send their only Son to die for our sins so that these broken relationships can be healed?  Only a God who understands us perfectly -- who loves us perfectly.
3. God knows perfectly how you feel when you look at yourself and you see a caterpillar.  He already knows how you will feel when you become a butterfly.  He also knows how you will feel when you go through the intermediate steps -- the pain of isolation, the sense of disorientation, the feeling of abandonment.  He promises to be with you every step of the way.
4. God will not force you to become a butterfly.  He will watch over you as you inch along on the ground; He will wait for you to look up and ask, "is there anyone out there who understands what I'm feeling?"
5. Jesus is the ultimate example.  Before He could fly, He had to fall down.  He endured humiliation.  He suffered rejection.  His death was agonizing.  He was placed in a cocoon for three days before the transformation was complete and He gained the ability to fly.  He did this because He trusted His Father's plans for you.  He trusted His Father's empathy for you.  He knew He could be the perfect example for you to follow.  And He did this because He and His Father love you, perfectly.

Who are you going to trust on your journey?  My recommendation is to go with the One who has perfect empathy for you.

Did You Receive Your Recall Notice From God?

Most people are unaware of the problem.  The source of the outbreak, a snake that slithered into the garden eons ago, forced an immediate evacuation of all inhabitants to less favorable climates.  The virus is capable of surviving inside the body for years before symptoms appear.  Rapid mutations make it difficult to identify and it is often misdiagnosed.  Early warning signs of the disease are irritability, withdrawal, fatigue, loss of sense of purpose, anxiety, depression, and lethargy.  Over-the-counter treatments only provide temporary relief.  According to God's recall notice, there is only one remedy.  The recall notice is re-posted here for your convenience:

Recall Notice -- For Immediate Release

You are being recalled.  The entire human race is at risk due to a contagion spreading throughout the world.  The virus was traced to a garden snake, forcing a permanent relocation of all residents.  I attempted to destroy the virus when it resurfaced generations later.  There were only a few survivors due to the massive flood I ordered.  Further quarantine efforts were established to protect a select group of people.  They failed to follow the original recall notice I sent over 2,000 years ago.  In order to save lives, I expanded the recall notice to the general population.  Please follow these recall guidelines:

1. Read the Bible to learn more about the history of the virus.  Everything you need to know about its dangers is documented for your benefit.  Old Testament stories foretell of my plans to send a solution.
2. Pay careful attention to the New Testament.  Even though very few people listened to my Son, He did inoculate His followers with an Antivirus just before I recalled Him to Heaven.  Your entire future is dependent on your choice to heed this recall notice and follow my Son's prescription for the Antivirus.
3. Warning:  There are known side-effects to the Antivirus.  Those who reject the Anti-virus shots will turn against you.  The world will hate you.  You may lose your own life.  You will always be in danger of a re-infection.  Booster shots may be necessary.

In order to be recalled to Heaven, you must follow the Son.  He will inject you with the Holy Spirit the same way He immunized His first followers.  Please share this recall notice.

Inescapable Thoughts

Your thoughts have the legs of a marathoner.  You may be able to sprint away from them for a while, however, they will follow you like a shadow.  No matter how long you put them on hold, they won't hang up.  Your thoughts are what dreams are made of.  If you try to bury them, they will haunt you from the grave every night when you try to sleep.  Today's blog is dedicated to your hopes and dreams.  Consider these five points as seeds waiting to be planted:

1. Your dreams have something important to say.  Pay attention to them and they will inspire you to live a life only you are created to live.  They are your road map.  Your thoughts will be your GPS navigation system for your life.
2. Your hopes are part of your DNA.  You can't escape who you really are, a child of God.  There is a plan for you disguised as your deepest desires.  Look inside yourself and ask, "what is my purpose?"
3. Thoughts are more powerful than roadblocks.  Listen to them and believe in them.  Stop focusing on the hurdles and concentrate on your dreams.
4. When your thoughts knock on your door, welcome them into your home and spend quality time with them.  They will lead you to your destiny.
5. A dream can only come true if it is nurtured daily.  Treat it like a precious plant.  Once it sprouts, remember to give it sunlight and water.  Don't ever let a dream die, no matter the conditions around you.  A day will come when your plant will bloom like no other in the universe.  Your thoughts are what dreams are made of, they are your hopes for a life well-lived.

Many people think there are only two responses to thoughts -- fight or flight.  You have a third option -- embrace.  The fool tries to flee from his thoughts while the wise man gathers them up and plants them in his garden.  He watches over them like an expectant mother and he delivers them no matter how much pain he must endure.  Then he patiently cultivates his thoughts until they reach maturity.

Farsightedness

Why is it so easy for us to identify everyone's weaknesses but our own?  It's like my vision.  I now need eyeglasses to see things up close but have no trouble seeing things clearly that are far away.  One day I asked the Holy Spirit to be my eyeglasses -- to give me 20/20 vision.  I discovered how out of focus my farsightedness was.  The close-up image I saw in the mirror was frightening.  I was stunned.  It was too late to give back the eyeglasses.  Not even blindness could erase the picture I saw of myself the day my vision changed.  It was like looking at an X-ray of my own lungs and discovering they were riddled with cancer.  That's when the "buts" start spewing:  "But I don't smoke!  But the person in the mirror is an imposter! But these eyeglasses aren't working!"

Then come the maybe statements: "Maybe the person in the mirror does look a little like me.  Maybe I do have trouble with farsightedness.  Maybe I need to get my life in better focus."

The stage I'm at now is acceptance.  I am accountable for the man in the mirror.  I accept who I am.  I am at peace.  My advice to anyone who has trouble with their spiritual vision is to recommend my ophthalmologist, the Holy Spirit.  He will help you see yourself the way God sees you.  You will know your eyesight is fully functional when you develop triple vision -- the ability to see Jesus in yourself, your friends, and your enemies.

Pain--The Secret Ingredient In Life's Banquet

American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Pain is like the black keys on a piano we prefer to avoid.  The greatest poets of all times, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, sprinkled the sharps and flats on top of their gourmet meals in order to produce seven course meals fit for a king.  Some argue the recipes were imported from other countries and repackaged.  Pain is the universal ingredient that inspires life's banquet.

The beard that Longfellow sported in his later years masked his facial scars, external signs of his failed effort to rescue his second wife when her dress caught fire.  Longfellow's first wife died shortly after a miscarriage.  Longfellow suffered from Neuralgia, a pain in one or more nerves.  The music he heard in his head was like an unruly child banging on a set of drums.   In spite of all the pain Longfellow endured, he produced some of the sweetest poems the world has ever witnessed.

Let your pain be the fertilizer you use to nurture new ideas and new opportunities for the next season of your life.  Harvest the fruits of your labors when they are ripe and serve them to your guests.  If anyone asks for the secret ingredient, caution them about the high price that must be paid in order to obtain it.