WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST LOVE EACH OTHER?

Mark 12:30-31  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." 

It's 5:18 am and I am awake.  Why?  As I lie in my bed and toss and turn thoughts keep rolling through my mind.  God brought me to the verse for a reason last week and now I know why.  He wants us all to follow this command to a tee!  Jesus said "there is no greater commandment than these" yet for some stupid reason some of us seem to ignore it or at least brush it aside.

As I sit here on my deck typing this the sun is just starting to kiss the horizon, the lake is smooth as glass except the ripple from the fish that are jumping, morning doves are cooing their soothing sounds, birds are chirping and the world here in Michigan is coming alive after a good nights sleep, so why am I awake?  I should still be sleeping yet I'm not, why?

Events last week and recently have me in a sense or turmoil and strife.  I just don't get it.  Why can't we just love each other?  Why can't we just accept each other as we are?  If Jesus stated that loving God and loving our neighbor is the greatest commandment then why are we treating each other the way we do?      

Last week a man opened fire in a bible study group and killed 9 people, why?  For believing in God?  For being black?  Really?  

We get angry at each other for being different and judge others who are different.  We point fingers and blame others for our unhappiness.  Really?

Brother against brother, sister against sister all to prove a point, really?

We voice our opinions, we voice our concerns, we become stubborn and prideful and we lose track of these verses which contain the wisdom and the greatest commandment from God, LOVE!

What is wrong with us?  Why do we behave like children bickering and complaining?  Why can't we just learn to love?  Why do we feel we have to be right and everyone else is wrong?  Why do we feel it's okay to hurt someone's feelings without caring?  Why do we feel it necessary to point out what others are doing wrong without looking in the mirror first?  Why?  Please someone tell me why?

Why is one person right and everyone else is wrong?  Why is love the thing we fight the most?  Why do we force our opinions on everyone else?  Why do people fight each other?   What has happened to love?

Back in the old days, neighbors and families helped each other.  Where did that go?  

Pride!!  Ego!!  Stubbornness!!  Selfishness!!   

Those things have torn apart the very fabric of love.  Marriages, families, friendships, and even churches have been torn apart by those 4 words.  How sad!

I am one who is sick and tired of the lack of love in this world.  I wish I could go back in time and experience what the love of Jesus was truly like as He walked this Earth.  Because I think His love for others was much deeper and more profound than any of us human beings understand.  

If we believers would just love like Jesus did, this world would be an amazing place.  If we would set our foolish, selfish pride aside, and just learn to love as Jesus commanded, this world would be a better place to live.

As it is now, I am truly sad.  People killing others for being different, for being richer, for being a different color, for believing in God, for not believing in God, seriously?  

Can't we all just get along?  Can't we learn to just love each other?  Just wondering if anyone can explain it to me!

God forgive me for my selfish pride, my ego and my stubbornness that keeps me from just loving others.  Lord rid me of my pride, crucify my ego and my selfishness, destroy my stubbornness.  Help me to learn to live our love all the days of my life, in Jesus name I pray, amen!

IT'S A HEART ISSUE

Mark 12:30-31  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." 

How on Earth can we love God with a broken heart?  I don't know about you, but there are times in my life when my heart feels broken and damaged, even beyond repair.  Times when someone hurt you with their words or actions, times when something happened that shouldn't have happened.   Death, cancer, divorce, bankruptcy, illness, suicide, are just a small portion of things that can happen to break our heart, yet God wants us to love Him with our broken hearts?  Yes!

Love is a verb that should propel us into action but way to often we don't think of love as a verb.  We think of love as a feeling or emotion, but it's not.  Love is a verb.  It requires actions not just words.  It requires commitment, not just a "we'll see" attitude, it requires fidelity, not just "as long as things are going my way" belief.  Love is not easy.  It can be messy, it can be hard, and it can get complicated.  

What does it mean to love with all your heart?  To me that means to love someone with 100% commitment,passion, faithfulness and fidelity.  Way too often in this world I hear people say, love is 50/50.  That is wrong!  If you're only going to give 50% than just give up now and walk away. 50% just don't get it!  Love should be exciting and vibrant and alive, but when the going gets tough, love should be powerful, steady, strong and lasting.  Love should be able to endure any and all storms in life.  Whether we are dealing with marriage or love of God.

Just because things aren't going the way we had planned or hoped for doesn't mean we should just walk away and give up.  Love is worth fighting for, if it is real love.  That to me is the clincher here.  Do I really love God?  No, no I mean REALLY LOVE GOD!!  Because to me, if I do really in truly love God, I will love Him in good times and bad.  Even when I am hit by a major storm in life, I should love God with all my heart.  

Churches are full of people who say they love God but really don't.  Just because we walk into church every Sunday, does not mean we love God.  Just because we go to communion once a week does not mean we love God.  Just because we go to confession to get our sins forgiven does not mean we love God.  Religious activities and rituals do not demonstrate our love for God.   

So how do we love God?  How do we show our love for God?  Action!  In good times and bad, we need to reach out to others, we need to give to others, we need to read His word and study it, we need to allow Him to change us, we need to praise Him even during the storms and we need to trust Him.

Words are meaningless unless followed up by action.  Think of it this way, if your husband or wife tells you they love you, yet they're sneaking around with someone else, those words are meaningless.  If your children tell you they love you, yet scream profanities at you, those words are meaningless.  Love is easy to say but hard to do.  

I truly think that instead of telling God how much we love Him, we need to show Him.  We need to reach out to those people no one else does, the homeless, the orphans, the widows, the sick and the dying.  By sharing God's love for us with others, I think that means more to God than just saying the words.  Let me be honest here.  No matter how much we say we love God, God sees our heart and knows the truth.  No matter how much we try to deny the reality of our heart, God knows the truth.  

Our heart speaks through our mouth and acts through our foot steps and touches through our fingertips.  So what does your heart say about you?  Are your words loving and uplifting?  Are you walking where Jesus would walk?  Are you touching the lepers, like Jesus?  What we say and what we do are often 2 different things but today, lets change that.  Let's show God how much we love Him by loving those who do not ask for or deserve our love.  Open up your heart and learn to love again with less words and more actions.

God, you love us with an everlasting love, please help us to learn to love in action and deed.  Help our hearts learn to love you by loving others, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

LET IT GO!!

Mark 12:30-31  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." 

"Love the Lord your God."  Simply stated, yet so deep.  To love someone we cannot see, to love someone we cannot touch, to love someone we cannot hear seems impossible.  To those who do not believe in God, we may seem like idiots but for me personally, loving God is my deepest desire.  To love God is simple, it is obvious to me that my God exists because I see Him everywhere I go.  Alright not literally but when I see a sunrise or a sunset, when I glance at nature and the breathtaking beauty of this world, I see God.  When I look into the eyes of my children and grandchildren and miracle of their birth and life, I see God.  When I look at the complexity of this human body we dwell in, I see God. 

I feel His love when I see my family and friends.  I feel His love when the warmth of the sun kisses my cheeks. I feel His love in the deepest part of my soul when I am sad.  He has wiped away my tars and calmed  my fears.  He has help me tight and loved me with an everlasting love.  His love overwhelms me and chases me down everyday.  His love invades all my words and all my thoughts.  His love for me affects every action I take.  His love has changed me into a better person.   

Yes, I love God!  He is amazing and has done so many great things for me in my lifetime.  But loving God is not without risks. It means lowing your defenses, it means giving up your heart, it means giving up your own plans to follow God's plan, it means relying on God and trusting in Him and not ourselves, it means surrendering your life,  For those of us who are control freaks, this is very difficult and honestly I believe this may be one of the main reasons, some chose not to believe in God.  Our pride and our ego can very easily keep us from believing in God, we don't want to surrender, that means defeat,  

Yes it's risky to love God, but oh the blessings I have found in loving Him has eternal rewards. 

 Seriously as a catholic I thought I knew about God and loved Him, but until I learned how to totally surrendered my life to Him, I realized I was kidding myself.  You see I never heard or learned about total surrender.  They don't talk about that in the catholic church, at least I never heard that.   I gave up control of my life, my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength.  

How could I not love God?  He gave up the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, so that my sins could be forgiven.  He sacrificed His Son for me and for you!   He allowed His Son to be killed for me and you!  Whether you believe or not, God loves you.  He wants a relationship with you, not a religion.  Listen my life has changed so much since the day I totally surrendered to God and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I have a peace so deep and profound that it is hard to explain.  God has blessed me in ways I never imagined or dreamed.  The greatest gift I can ever give my family and friends is the gift of total surrender to my God who loves them!  

 Let it go!!   Let go of the pride!  Let go of the stress!  Let go of the disbelief!  Accept the love of your Heavenly Father and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Learn to love again.

May the love of God invade your personal space today.  May His love invade your heart and transform your life.  May you learn to love again, in Jesus name I pray, amen!

ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

Mark 12:30-31  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." 

These Bible verses speaks right to my heart.  Love!  I'm going to take some time in the next week or so and dissect these 2 verses.  Why?  I know you've heard it all before but there are parts of these verses that we really don't seem to understand, at least I didn't for a long time.  So bare with me as I dive in deep with these powerful verses.  I know there are many powerful verse in the Bible but, to me when Jesus said, "There is no greater commandment than these", That got my attention and peaked my interest.  Please feel free to comment, let's get into a discussion.  

Instead of starting off in the beginning, I am going to start at the end.  

"Love your neighbor as yourself"  What in the world is Jesus saying here?  I do love my neighbor but to love myself would be conceited and arrogant, right?

Not necessary.  Jesus commands us to love our neighbor, but here He is also commanding us to love ourselves, isn't He?  Let me be honest here.  The more I love myself, the more I will be able to love others.  You see, I can't give what I don't have.   If I cannot love the me God created me to be, if I cannot love the me that is created in the image of God Himself, if I cannot love the me I see in the mirror every day with all my flaws, all my sins, all my ugliness, how could I ever love my neighbor?

I can't!  If I do not love who I am, not in a conceited, arrogant or prideful way, but in a way that says, "Thank you God for making me as I am", than I have no idea how to love others.  Love is not a feeling or an emotion, it's a decision. We decide who we will love, we decide how we will love, we decide when we will love.  Love is a verb, not a noun.  It's something we do, or at least we should do.  

Think back to the days when we were much younger.  I relive my younger years through my grandchildren.  I see them walk out in public with clothes I wouldn't have dreamed of wearing.  When we were younger, we loved who we were.  It didn't matter if everyone liked what we were wearing or not, we did and that was all that mattered.  We didn't change who we were in order to feel loved, we were who we were and we liked who we were.  If no one else did, too bad!!  

When my granddaughter Brooklyn started school my daughter was a little worried because Brooklyn likes to dress colorful and sometimes the clothes didn't match.  My daughter wondered if she should make her change.  "No, just let her be her."  Honestly I wish I had had this attitude with my children, but I didn't.  If I knew then what I know things would have been different!   If only us adults could approach our lives with the same freedom and blind love for ourselves that children have.   

Look at Facebook, you will see numbers of photos of children dressed and acting goofy.  They are being who God created them to be and they love themselves, because no one has told them differently.  They honestly love themselves and accept themselves.  This is the way we should be.

Loving yourself is not wrong.  Yes there are those who love themselves in the wrong way, thinking they're better than everyone else, thinking they're the "cat's meow".  This is not the kind of love I am talking about here.  I am talking about the kind of love for yourself that says, "God I thank you for making me who I am.  Thank you for making me unique."  Until we get to that point in our lives we will never know how to truly love someone else.  

Love is powerful.  When we love ourselves, we have confidence that God can use us to reach a lost and broken world.  When we love ourselves, we can share the love of Christ with everyone we meet.  When we love ourselves, we will notice the hurting people.  Because when we love ourselves, we  accept ourselves as God made us, we take the focus off of us and we will begin to notice others who need to feel loved.  

We can't share what we don't have.  Jesus says it clear, "Love your neighbors as you love yourself".  So how are you doing at loving yourself today?  My answer?  I'm not where I need to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be. 

Lord, thank you for making me the way you did.  Thank you for creating me in your image.  Thank you for showing me how to love the me you created me to be.  Give me the courage to love myself, in Jesus name I pray, amen! 

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW?

Well?  What do you do with what you know?  Come in now!  Get real!  We are smarter than we think we are.  We all have at least some smarts!  Our brain, the mini computer in that thick skull of ours contains more knowledge than we acknowledge.  Admit it.

We know the difference between right and wrong.  We were all, for the most part, taught the difference at a very young age.  We were taught what is appropriate words and inappropriate words.  We were taught manners, we were taught not to lie or steal, we were taught not to cheat and not to hurt others.  So why does it seem that there are some of us who forgot these lessons?

Listen the knowledge is there right between our two ears.  It didn't just disappear over night, a magician didn't make it vanish,  a storm didn't wash it away.  It's there!  So why don't all of us use this knowledge?  Why do some of us act like we don't have a brain in our head?  Why do some of us simply not care about what we know any longer?

As a believer in Jesus Christ, (if we are a true believer), we are given an anointing of the Holy Spirit.  With that anointing comes knowledge, but also we have been given an anointing of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  If we are true believers than these fruits of the spirit already live inside us.  So why aren't we using these?  

1 John 2:20  But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 

I have been around many people who call themselves christians, but to be honest I have questions as to whether they are really christians who believe in Jesus Christ or they just said a simple prayer, hoping that they would magically get eternity some day.  

Okay I am not trying to judge here but I have to be honest.  I know some very angry and judgemental christians.  I know some gossiping and finger pointing christians who seem to sit on their throne pointing out others faults.  I know some people who would proclaim to be believers who would dare believe they could be the one to throw a stone at Mary Magdelene.  I know so called believers who spew profanity and use God's name in vain from the same lips that praise God.  I know people who say they believe in Jesus Christ, yet wouldn't dare forgive someone who hurt them.

Listen I understand that we are human and God doesn't expect us to be perfect.  BUT He does expect us to use the knowledge we have been given to start to change.  We should daily, minute by minute, second by second, be working on transforming ourselves from our own image, into His image.  We should say "God change me"  Instead of rayong for God to change someone else.

Until there is a day when we can look in the mirror and actually see Jesus Christ staring back at us, we are a work in progress.  None of us will ever see the image of Jesus staring back at us while we are alive.  We all need to change.  We all need to tap into that knowledge given to us when we were anointed.  We all need to develop the fruits of the spirit we have been given.  Tap into that anointing and allow ourselves to be transformed.  Admit our failings and change.   

Just my opinion!

Lord, through your anointing I have been given knowledge of right and wrong.  The fruit of the spirit dwells in me.  Help me to eliminate my pride and crush my ego so that you can begin to transform me into your image, in Jesus name I pray, amen!

A TOUCH CAN HEAL, EVEN FEARS

    

These are my daughter's dogs, Stanley and Dudley.  At the time this picture was taken they wear escaping a fish.   Jerry thought he'd be funny and through a fish at them that my daughter caught.  Well it wasn't funny to them.  This strange thing (the fish) that Jerry threw at them was moving and flopping around.  Although it was much smaller than them, size does not matter when your life is in danger.  Needless to say, they jumped on my lap, figuring I could save them and calm their fear of this monstrous 4 inch fish.  

A touch, a simple loving touch can be so reassuring to people as well as dogs.  A loving touch can calm fears in all of us.  A loving  touch can heal a wounded heart.  A loving touch can sooth jittery nerves.  A loving touch can take away a nightmare.  Sometimes when a simple loving touch can reach down into our very souls and shine a light through the darkness.  

Germs!!!  Stay away!!  I don't want what you have!!  If we do accidentally touch someone who is sick we quickly get out the antibacterial hand sanitizer.  God forbid we get what they have.  We ostracize those who are sick and end up making them feel much like the lepers of biblical times.  We look at people who have irrational fears and we criticize them, we look at people who are crying and in pain and we walk away because we don't want to get involved.  We hear screaming or someone struggling and we cross the street to avoid them.  

The word, touch, can be scary.  When we touch someone, we risk getting involved, we risk setting ourselves up, we risk our health.  I'm glad Jesus wasn't as paranoid as we are.

Matthew 8:3  And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 

Jesus touched those whom others wouldn't.  Jesus touched lepers, He touched demon possessed, He touched the sick and He touched the dead.  In fact when I think about it, Jesus touched all the unclean people we normally run from.  

In the Bible we are told that the greatest commandment of all is to love God and love one another.  How can we love others if we are not willing to touch them?  To be honest I don't think we can truly love someone without touching them.  Reaching out to hold the hand of someone dying, reaching out to touch the hand of someone who is sick, reaching out to touch the hand of someone who is crying, reaching out to touch the hand of someone who is scared, reaching out to touch the hand of someone who is being physically beaten or bullied.  

We never know the difference a simple, loving touch can make in a person's life.  That means getting involved.  Thank you God that Jesus decided to get involved in our lives.  Thank you God that Jesus was willing to touch our sick and messed up hearts.  Thank you God that Jesus was willing to touch those of us that no one else would dare to touch.  

Instead of judging, instead of pointing fingers and snickering, instead of gossiping, instead of condemning, instead of avoiding, get involved!  Touch others the way Jesus is willing to touch us.  Love others the way Jesus is willing to love us.

Lord, remove all judgement away from me and help me to get involved by touching people.  Help me to touch others and love others the way you touch and love us, in Jesus name I pray, amen!

LET THE SEARCH FOR BURIED TREASURE BEGIN

Today I am going on a treasure hunt.  

Old folklore says there is a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow, yet no one that I know of has ever found it.  Pirates in days of old searched for buried treasures filled with gold doubloons and precious jewels.  Even now days there are treasure hunters who search for ancient treasures lost under the sea or the sand.  The treasures of the Titanic has been a popular place to search.  The pyramids of Egypt contain treasures.  Jewelry stores are filled with treasure seekers searching for pieces of fine gold or silver, diamonds and emeralds, rubies and sapphires.   It seems like everyone is searching for a treasure these days.  But why?

People are looking for happiness.  People are looking for joy.  People are looking for prosperity.  People are looking for something or someone to fill that void in their heart.  The emptiness and sadness of our lives sometimes seemed linked to the fact that we have no real treasures, no real joy, no real happiness, no real peace.  Maybe if we change our appearance, then we will be happy.  Maybe if we buy something expensive, then we will have our treasure.  Maybe if we get that promotion, then we will find our joy.  Maybe if we have lots of money in our bank account, then we will have peace. 

For thousands of years, people have been going on treasure hunts searching for what seems to be that hidden treasure that will finally make us feel joyful, happy, and peaceful.  I too have gone on these treasure hunts hoping to find my joy, my happiness and my peace.  I longed to find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow , but alas I always came up empty.  I searched and searched and searched for years.  There were days I felt so drained emotionally and  physically.  Searching for a treasure chest is not easy work.  

For years I struggled within myself.  Privately I would cry and scream, hoping there was more to life than what I was feeling.  My husband and my children were my true treasures but there still seemed to be a void.  A spot that no treasure seemed to fill and a spot I could never expect my husband or children to fill.  I found that treasure 8 years ago when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. 

Matthew 13:44  "God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidently found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic--what a find!--and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field." 

I found my treasure chest, my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Jesus Christ.  Oh I knew who He was I believed He was my Savior, after all I went to church every Sunday.  It wasn't until 8 years ago when I verbally, out loud and in front of 17,000 women stated that "Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior" that I realized that this had been the treasure I had been searching for all my life.

I know for some of you this is hard to understand, but let me honestly tell you that when I verbally stated that, out loud, standing up in the St. Louis  Rams stadium, I changed.  That void, that emptiness was filled instantly.  I found my joy, my happiness and my peace in Jesus Christ.  

No matter how much you change your physical appearance, no matter how many diamonds or how much gold you buy, no matter how many divorces and remarriages you go through, no matter how much you blame society or someone else, no one and nothing can steal your joy, your peace or your happiness.  My friend you are searching for Jesus Christ.  Whether you want to admit or not, there is a void in you heart that can only be filled by Jesus Christ.  And until you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior you will keep searching.  

Pretend all you want.  Continue to hide your sorrows behind your fake smile, continue to blame all your problems on someone else or a God you say you don't believe in, continue searching amongst all the treasures your money can buy, you still have a void, whether you admit or not.  I can see it in your eyes, I can hear it in your voice and I can feel it in your touch.  Your words are the evidence I hear, your anger is the evidence I hear, your denial is the evidence I hear.  

So today, I challenge you drop to your knees and confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  My friends, that is the treasure you have searching for all of your life.  He is waiting for you.  He loves you!  Turn to Him today and get ready to open that treasure chest of true joy, true peace and true happiness.

Jesus Christ, today I accept you as my Lord and Savior.  I surrender all that I am and all that I have. Fill my heart with your joy, your peace and your happiness, in Jesus name I pray, amen!  

"WHAT ABOUT ME?"

The phrase, "What about me?" is one coined by Joyce Meyer.  I have heard her say it and preach about it many times, yet for some strange, stupid reason, that phrase invades my life, my heart and my soul.  Satan steps into my life through someone else's words or actions (or lack of) and leaves me with doubts and fears and a feeling of "poor pitiful me".

I am sure I am not the only one who sits on days and wonders, "What about me?"  "Am I important to any one?"  "Does anyone really know me or care to know me?"  "Does my life have meaning?'  "Does God see me and hear me?"  These thoughts reel through my mind and leaves terror and dread in their wake.  Thus the "pity party" ensues and tears falls.  Am I alone here?  I doubt it!  Although I may be one of the few who dare to admit it.  

Listen, I am being honest here and I pray you are also.  Get honest with yourself about these feelings.  I normally don't cater to my feelings but there are occasions where I have to and this is one of those.  Truthfully I have no visible reasons to be in this mind set that anyone can see, yet here I am.  I wonder where I have disappeared to?  What happened to that little girl who was called "giggles"?  What happened to my smile?  

Oh sure I do not feel like this a majority of my time, in fact I consider myself a very positive person.  99% of the time I am smiling and laughing and enjoying life.  I celebrate my life knowing Jesus Christ is my Savior.  Just yesterday, I sat in church with my arms raised high, singing songs about my amazing God, chatting with friends and enjoying life.  Jerry and I drove out to see his mom, we laughed, we talked, we enjoyed life, so what happened?

Life!  Stupid random thoughts, lies of Satan invaded my mind.  I sat and focused on myself and what I wanted, what I needed, what I longed for.  "What about me?"  The thoughts rang through my mind like a bad song, and the dumbest thing is I allowed it.  In fact I fed those thoughts and thus am living with the results today.  Instead of focusing on what I have, instead of seeing all the blessings in my life, I focused on what I didn't have and felt I deserved.  How stupid!

Philippians 2:3  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 

Life is not about me!  (Even though I still feel like that at this moment.)  My life, my mind, my moods should not be surrounded with thoughts of me, but thoughts of how can I be a blessing to others.  I realize that, I know that deep down in my soul.  Luckily these pity parties don't last as long as they used to.

You see, through reading the Bible, I have come to understand the truth that my life is not about what I get, what I do, or what I have.  It's about what I do with what I have been given.  It's about loving the unlovable.  It's about being peaceful in the midst or turmoil.  It's about standing up for what you believe in and making a difference in someone else's life.   It's about showing someone the love of Jesus Christ.  It's about sacrificing me to help someone else.  

What I want, what I feel I need, what I feel I deserve is not important.  It's not about me!  It's about Jesus!  It's about living my life like His.  Actually if I can be 100% honest, I am sick and tired of thinking about me, it's time for me to focus on others.  

Lord, forgive me for my selfish pity parties.  This life is not about me, it's about you!  Help to change the focus of my life to you and your will for my life, in Jesus name I pray, amen